practical wireless số 2002 04

30 Euro-Zone Amateur Radio Operating With the Euro currency now the legal tender in many EU countries Pére Sottise provides some helpful hints and tips forthe many British Radio Amateurs

with the TS-2000

Satellite Success

MFJ-461 More Morse Fun!

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Broadstone, Dorset BH18 8PW

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Editor Rob Mannion G3XFD Technical Projects Sub-Editor

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APRIL 2002 (ON SALE MARCH 14) VOL 78 NO 4 ISSUE 1141

NEXT ISSUE (MAY)

ON SALE APRIL 11

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18 Tex’s Tips

This time Tex Swann G1TEX follows on

from Allan Wightman’s advice on antennainstallations in last month’s AntennaWorkshop with an update on improvingyour reception further

18 Errors & Updates

Useful additions and updates to Phil Cadman G4JCP’s Valve & Vintage and the

Short Wave Receiver project from theMarch issue

22 Radio Basics

Following on from his dip into component

‘Goody Bags’ last month, Rob G3XFD

now describes how to use the resistorsand capacitors to your best advantage

There’s also a quick lesson on how toidentify their values with the help of theresistor colour code chart

24 Satellite Success With The Kenwood TS-2000

Peter Perera G4AJG shares his

experiences of operating and workingAmateur Radio Satellites using theKenwood TS-2000 transceiver Read hisarticle to find out how to share in the fun!

30 Euro-Zone Amateur Radio Operating

With the Euro currency now the legal

tender in many EU countries Pére Sottise

provides some helpful hints and tips forthe many British Radio Amateurs planning

to travel abroad this year with their radioequipment Forewarned is forearmed and

by following Pére’s advice you can savemoney and enjoy trouble-free operatingwhile in the Euro-Zone

35 Low Power Operation

Dick Pascoe G0BPS, a keen QRP

operator, traces the history of low powerfrom 1949-2001 His article delves intothe origins of QRP operating and themany colourful characters who prefer tooperate with milliwatts rather thanmegawatts!

38 A Simple QRP Transmitter

Hannes Coetzee ZS6BZP’s single

transistor crystal controlled transmitterproject is designed for QRP working butfeatures a wider than usual tuning range

Why not have a go at building one foryourself?

42 MFJ-461 Morse Reader Review

Decoding is fun says Jonathan Constable M5FUN following his review of the MFJ-

461 pocket Morse reader With a callsignreflecting Jonathan’s enthusiastic approach

to Amateur Radio who can argue!

46 Antenna Workshop

Picture this - the sun is shining, it’s 25°C,you’ve got your sun hat and shorts andare playing antennas! Sounds too good to

be true doesn’t it? Join John Pears W4/G0FSP as he shares his design of the

‘holiday’ quad antenna he uses when heretreats to warmer climes during winter

49 Carrying On The Practical Way

George Dobbs G3RJV encourages you to

test your surplus crystals with the help ofhis crystal checker

Cover Subject Peter Perera G4AJG’s article on working Amateur Radio satellites using

the Kenwood TS-2000 gave Bob Kemp, PW’s Layout & Design artist the

idea for this month’s unusual cover The main image shows one of thehuge Satellite dishes at the Goonhilly British Telecom International EarthStation in Cornwall fronted by the Kenwood TS-2000 We think you’llagree the work Bob’s put in makes for a very striking cover indeed!

Inset Photograph: Courtesy of Kenwood Electronics UK Ltd Design by: Bob Kemp

9 Rob Mannion’s Keylines

Rob G3XFD introduces another packed issue and reports

on interesting feedback from readers on the TW Communicators

10 Amateur Radio Waves

There’s an interesting post bag this month as readers make

‘waves’ by writing in with their comments, ideas and opinons.

11 Amateur Radio Rallies

A round-up of radio rallies taking place in the coming month.

12 Amateur Radio News & Clubs

The Newsdesk is overflowing this month! Make sure you are right up-to-date by reading our comprehensive news pages and don’t forget to check out what activities your local club has planned too!

52 Valve & Vintage

More memories of early radio days are recalled by Charles

Miller as he takes his turn in PW’s vintage ‘wireless shop’.

54 VHF DXer

David Butler G4ASR’s regular report on the v.h.f bands

includes details of increased solar activity and of the Six Metre to Microwaves Convention taking place in early April.

56 HF Highlights

More new reporters join Carl Mason GW0VSW’s fold of

enthusiastic h.f band operators in this month’s jam-packed column.

58 Keyboard Comms

If you are interested in sending pictures via PSK31 Roger

Cooke G3LDI has details of a great website for you to

look-up.

60 DX Destination

Ed Taylor G3SQX’s quarterly column features a report on

Roger G4BVY’s radio holiday in Mauritius

62 In Vision

Have a go at building an ATV transmitter from a kit is the

suggestion from ATV reporter Graham Hankins G8EMX

this month.

66 Down Under

Chris Edmondson VK4AA/VK3CE reports on Amateur

Radio operation while travelling from Queensland to Melbourne - some 5500km!

68 Tune In

All the latest h.f broadcast schedules and news are

brought to the pages of PW by Tom Walters

62 Bargain Basement

The bargains just keep on coming! Looking for a specific piece of kit? - Check out our readers’ ads, you never know what you may find!

64 Book Store

The biggest and best selection of radio related books anywhere!

69 Topical Talk

Letters from readers often help to shape the contents of

PW - we look back on what an important part they have

played over the last 70 years

Editorial Note: Due to space limitations in this issue we have

been unable to publish Ray Fautley G3ASG’s article on the RAF R1155 classic transciever this month We hope to publish it in the May issue

Our Radio Scene reporters’

contact details in one easy reference point.

regulars

VHF DXer

David Butler G4ASR Yew Tree Cottage Lower Maescoed Herefordshire HR2 0HP

Tel: (01873) 860679 E-mail: g4asr@btinternet.com

HF Highlights

Carl Mason GW0VSW

12 Llwyn-y-Bryn Crymlyn Parc Skewen West Glamorgan SA10 6DX

Tel: (01792) 817321 E-mail: carl@gw0vsw.freeserve.co.uk Keyboard Comms

Roger Cooke G3LDI The Old Nursey The Drift Swardeston Norwich, Norfolk NR14 8LQ

Tel: (01508) 570278 E-mail: rcooke@g3ldi.freeserve.co.uk Packet: G3LDI@GB7LDI Tune-in

Tom Walters

PO Box 4440 Walton Essex CO14 8BX

E-mail: tom.walters@aib.org.uk

In Vision

Graham Hankins G8EMX

17 Cottesbrook Road Acocks Green Birmingham B27 6LE

E-mail:graham@ghank.demon.co.uk

DX Destination

Ed Taylor G3SQX C/o PW Editorial Offices Arrowsmith Court Station Approach Broadstone Dorset BH18 8PW E-mail: g3sqx@email.com

Down Under

Chris Edmondson VK3CE Box 123

Eagle Heights Queensland 4271 Australia E-mail:editor@radiomag.com

Copyright © PW PUBLISHING LTD 2002 Copyright in all

drawings, photographs and articles published in Practical

Wireless is fully protected and reproduction in whole or

part is expressly forbidden All reasonable precautions

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8 Practical Wireless, April 2002

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Features

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Idon’t often get the opportunity to publish

formerly confidential information on the

Keylines Editorial page but this month I’m

able to let you all into a little secret which was

connected with an incident at the Marconi

celebrations, at Poldhu, Cornwall in December

And in doing so I can pay tribute to the help

provided on the occasion by none other than

Barry Maxwell, the Radiocommunications

Agency’s Director of Customer Services

Barry, is shown right, proudly displaying the

framed text of the Queen’s official message which

was transmitted to Canada during the Century

celebrations on the brilliant

sunny mid-Winter’s day of

12 December 2001 However,

and with his permission, I’m

now able to explain how Barry

came to my rescue by enabling

a copy of the ‘Marconi Special’

issue (see inset photograph,

previously published on page

29 of the February issue) to be

presented to Guglielmo

Marconi, grandson of the

pioneer during the celebratory

dinner in the evening

‘Young Barry’ (as I

irreverently call him) is well

known for his impish sense of

humour and came to my rescue

when I realised I’d not taken a

copy of PW to present to

Marconi’s grandson However, Barry promptly

provided the copy he’d brought with him for

bedside reading! However, at the time he was

coy about sharing that information fearing

(jokingly) he’d be labelled as an ‘Anorak’!

Eventually though, Barry gave in and

changed his mind After all he does support

Amateur Radio and there a large number of

Amateurs working within the Agency and he

respects them and their dedication So, I was very

pleased indeed when he’d decided to admit the

‘secret’ and even said I could announce he’s

“Come out at last”! (In his words!).

Well, what can I say Barry - other than

‘Welcome to the club’ - it’s a great hobby? And

from the dealings we have with the RA - they

take particular interest in the forum provided

by the reader’s letters as they provide

valuable feed-back - we’re all exceptionally

pleased with the working relationship with you

and your colleagues So here’s to the future of

the hobby with the RA’s full support!

The TW Communicators

I selected Denis Lisney G3MNO’s helpful letter

(TW Communicators, letters pages) for

publication as it also basically reflects the

information contained in the many other letters

received from readers on the same subject

Thank you Denis, and everyone else for all

years old when PW was first published!

I even had a telephone call from one reader

who had worked Tom Withers G3HGE on 7MHz

- and also learned that G3HGE lived in Bury St

Edmunds which itself is an amazing coincidence I

say this because readers (who’ve attended ‘PW

Club Visits’) will have heard my comments that

life seems to be full of amazingcoincidences This now includesthe coincidence that the daybefore I heard that G3HGElived in Bury St Edmunds I’dbeen visiting the local club inBury!

However, to cut a funnystory short I have now written

to G3HGE, with the suggestion

of an in-depth article on the

TW range, which must surelynow be considered asBritish Amateur Radio

‘Classics’? In themeantime, perhaps

you’ve still got a 70MHz (or any other band) Communicator yourself? If so,

perhaps you’d like

to share the experiencewith other readers, photograph the rig andhave your letter published!

Local Dealer Panel

Although there are far fewer specialist service

advertisers in PW than was the case 40 to 50

years ago they still exist to help you with thatdifficult problem However, as so many are nowconcentrated on the ‘Local Dealer’ panel we’vedecided to rename it to reflect the changes

From this issue of PW, the section will become

‘Specialist & Local Dealers’ and it’s there you’llfind advertisers providing masts, serviceinformation, etc In particular (we get manyletters/telephone calls/E-mails for help on thissubject) you’ll find Service Manual/Sheet suppliersthere, ready to help you!

Problems With E-mails!

A series of E-mail typing errors of mine hascaused a rather embarrassing problem! Instead of

typing the reply “I’ve passed your E-mails to the News Editor” I typed “New” Editor The

error caused confusion, but I’m pleased to say I’m

still here! Donna G7TZB (News & Production

Editor) says she’s too busy to do my job!

Rob G3XFD

●ANOTHER PACKED ISSUE

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practicalwirelesspracticalwirelesspracticalwirelesspracticalwirelesspracticalwirelesspracticalwirelesspracticalwire

rob mannion’s keylines

Welcome to ‘Keylines’! Each month Rob introduces topics of interest and

comments on current news.

The TW Communicators

Dear Sir

I’m writing to you with regards

to the Editorial ‘Can You Help’

request panel referring to the

‘TW Mystery’, on page 29 of the

March issue of PW, alongside

the article by Ben Nock G4BXD

on the TW Communicators

Although I have never bought

or used an TW gear, I did see anearly 70MHz Communicatorowned (until it was stolen fromhim) by G3BZG

We bought (for Post Officeresearch work) some of TW’sv.h.f transmitters at the DollisHill research Centre I think thatthe TW company was thenbased in North London,although soon after I visited thefactory being built in Bury St

Edmunds When in the area iteventually became a personalrule that at the local Westerlyroundabout, that I drove toTW’s factory, and then go andvisit my mother and sister whostill lived in the area!

I still have (it’s a slowlydisintegrating copy) anElectroniques catalogue withoriginal adverts for the TWrange of products I feel surethat a factor in what happened,

or seems to have happened toboth TW and other UKmanufacturers was due to thelimited customer base Even theElectroniques organisationeventually disappeared

Denis Lisney G3MNO Harrow

Middlesex

Editor’s reply: Thank you Denis (and the many others readers, who wrote, E- mailed and telephoned us

on this subject) Please see Keylines for further comments.

Foundation Response From The RA

Dear Sir

I read with interest thecriticisms of the Foundationlicence in the January edition of

PW I welcome all constructive

feedback, it is an opportunity tohear everybody’s views I alsorecognise that usually it is thosewith strongly held views thatare moved to write and in

return I ask that authorsrecognise that we try to meetthe wishes of the majority

Most of the commentsappear to be based on aninaccurate impression Forexample, Mr Aspinall says “Myobjections would easeenormously if they [foundationlicensees] were only allowed touse self-built equipmentconstructed from approvedkits” I am pleased to say theycan and this was the intentionfrom very early on in thedeliberations on the FoundationLicence and has been clearlystated in all announcements

Eric Threw asks “Whytherefore cannot we (the losers

in this operation) just carry outthe short Morse requirementwithout having to sit a 10 hourexam.” You can Any existingclass B licensee, full orNovice/Intermediate, may takethe Morse Assessment andobtain an M3 licence That is allyou need and the pass is validimmediately The only delay tooperating your own station isthe arrival of the callsign TheRLC has a 5 working day targetfrom receipt of a validapplication to mailing yourlicence validation document

There is also somemisunderstanding about access

to h.f The words in section 10

of the Foundation syllabus aretaken directly from the RadioRegulations which are anInternational Treaty which alladministrations sign up to Weare obliged to administer aMorse test to all amateurswishing access to frequenciesbelow 30MHz

The next World RadioConference in 2003 (WRC-03)has an Agenda item to discusssection S25 of the Regulationswhich govern Amateur Radio It

is likely that the class A/class Bdistinction will be removed andall amateurs, Foundation,Intermediate and full, will haveaccess to h.f

Mr Aspinall is correct in hisanalysis of the numbers ofamateurs over the years

Between 1200 and 1300 enteredthe hobby each year from 1963

to 1976, rising to 1700 in 1979,peaking at 8500 in 1984and now falling tounder half the steady, pre

CB boom figure and

radiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradio

amateur radio waves

Make your own ‘waves’ by writing into PW with your

comments, ideas, opinions and general ‘feedback’.

The Star Letter will receive a voucher worth £10 to spend on items from our Book or other services

offered by Practical Wireless

All other letters will receive a £5 voucher.

Sri Lankan Reader

Dear Sir

I was a regular reader of Practical

Wireless magazine from 1956 to 1971 here

in Sri Lanka I had to stop buying it due tocircumstances beyond my control However,

my son knowing my interest, on joining The British Council

Library surprised me with a copy of the April 2001 issue of

Practical Wireless.

I was also surprised at the changes in the

advertisements! The ones which caught my eye were the

World Space Digital Satellite Receiver and the WinRadio PC

Receivers Also, there was a familiar name, Gordon King Was

he the same person whose articles on Servicing helped me a

great deal? (June 1956 page 273 Servicing Radio Receivers By

Gordon J King)

I am now 62 and started with the crystal set my brother

and I broke rocks in search of the elusive crystal Its holder was

made from a ‘Milkmaid’ cover cut with my mother’s scissors

The earphones were TMC war surplus headphones

What a thrill it was to receive a faint whisper then came

battery valves 1S4, 1S5, DF91, DAF91 for regenerative receivers

The received stations were then separated from each other and

so was my pocket money from my pocket! The superhet was

constructed by a circuit of Mr F G Rayer The joy of receiving

short wave stations was so interesting that I could not sleep at

night

The Mullard 510 with a pre-amplifier from PW by J Haskell

June 1961 page 144 (the player I used was a Collaro) and the

amplifier was the envy of my friends The speaker was a

Stentorian

With the advent of the transistor my construction work

stopped but not my interest in radio and short wave

listening I now own an AR88 and I am keeping my fingers

crossed that a valve will not burn-out since they are not

available in Sri Lanka

I may add that I treasure these back issues of the Practical

Wireless often reading and enjoy glancing it over and over

again I hope that my letter will be of some interest to other

old timers like me helping them to revive their memories Best

wishes to you all! E-mails from readers sent to ziegelar@lgo.lk

will be greatly appreciated

Malcolm P Ziegelaar

05 Windsor Avenue

Dehiwala

Sri Lanka

Editor’s comment: What a delight to hear from Malcolm

Ziegelaar! And yes, it’s the same Gordon King (now also

G4VFV who has been associated with PW for over 50

years!) I’ve written to Mr Ziegelaar asking for some

photographs of him, his radio and his brother so we can

include them in a future issue I’ve no doubt also we can

ensure that his AR88 continues to provide good service

eh readers? (Nudge, nudge and a wink!).

showing steady further

decline That coupled with a

steadily rising average age

within the hobby, currently

well over 50, is a very clear

indication for the future

unless that trend can be

substantially changed

He also suggests there is

no good evidence that

encouraging the next

generation into Amateur

Radio will lead to more

entering radio as a career Is

that a good impression to

give? Amateurs enjoy a

comparatively large slice of

the radio spectrum at a cost

which is truly insignificant

compared to what

commercial enterprise would

offer The reasons

administrations adopt a

benevolent view is partly

historical, partly to do what

they can to redress a

shortage of good engineers

in radio and other disciplines

and partly in recognition of

the good work and

development carried out by

many amateurs I must

question the wisdom of

chipping away at these

I feel that the main points of

the rambling diatribe from

Aircraft Radio Engineer, and

have run my own business

for over 20 years designing

and building all sorts of

weird and wonderful

one-off systems to customer

requirements I am quite

capable of designing and

building my own equipment

Why the heck should I?

The black boxes that Mr

Aspinall disparages so much

in his letter are technically

far superior to anything he

will ever build, andaesthetically far morepleasing If your ego, MrAspinall, is satisfied bybuilding your ownequipment so be it, butsome of us have betterthings to do with our time

Towards the start of hisletter Mr Aspinall states(Reference the FoundationLicence) ‘My objectionwould ease enormously ifthey were only allowed touse self-built equipment

from a range of approvedkits ’ Later on he statesthat ‘there’s a risk thathome-brewed equipmentused by anyone may causeinterference to other radiousers ’, and later still ‘

not all full licensees thesedays are technicallyequipped to build muchthemselves ’, so how does

he imagine that aFoundation Class licenseewill manage it? I suspectthat Mr Aspinall doesn’thave as much experience inbuilding equipment as hewould like us to think, or hewould be aware that evenwith a kit there is noguarantee that it willperform to specification

How long do you think MrAspinall, that magazines like

Practical Wireless, Short Wave Magazine and RadCom would continue to

be published without ‘blackbox’ advertising? Just have alook through any of thesemagazines and see howmuch of their advertisingrevenue comes frommanufacturers or stockists ofblack boxes Without it theprice would be so high thatthey wouldn’t survive morethan a couple of months! MrAspinall doesn’t believe thatjust because statistics show adecline in Radio Amateursit’s actually happening - butthen says that because the

RA have no statistics to showthe number of professionalradio engineers who werepreviously Amateurs thatthis can have any relevance

Let’s get this right MrAspinall, if the statisticsshow something is

happening you don’t believe

it, but if someone sayssomething without anystatistics to prove it you stilldon’t believe it! Over 63,000Amateur Radio Licenceswere issued in 1994 and lessthan 58,000 in 2001 Nowunless I’m mistaken thatrepresents a decline of justless that 10% in seven years,but perhaps Mr Aspinallworks to a different mathssystem to me The fact thatthere were only 9000licenses in 1960 is of noconsequence - it’s about asrelevant as saying that therewere none at all in 1850!

Mr Aspinall seems tothink that the spin-off fromthe CB boom in the 1980sand 1990s works in favour ofhis argument - in actual fact

it is the reverse, without itthe figures wouldundoubtedly show an evenlonger period of decline I’mnot too enamoured of theFoundation Licensing system

as it stands but I don’t hidethat fact by taking personalswipes at magazine editorsand RA employees andpresuming that because aperson isn’t a BritishNational he doesn’t have avalid opinion!

Whether Mr Aspinall likes

it or not we live in a worldwhere things have to bepaid for If Amateur Radiolicence numbers continue todecline the administrativecosts per user will becomeastronomical - or maybetotally uneconomical so far

as the ‘Powers That Be’ areconcerned

The RA and the RSGB aretrying to address a very realproblem - they may not have

it completely right but yourattitude of burying yourhead in the sand andpretending that the problemdoesn’t exist certainly isn’tgoing to help anyone

Join the rest of us in the21st Century (for better orworse) Mr Aspinall

Brian Groome G1WPG Wareham

Dorset

kradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradiotalkradi

A great deal of correspondence intended for ‘letters’ now arrives via E-mail, andalthough there’s no problem in general, many correspondents are forgetting toprovide their postal address I have to remind readers that although we willnot publish a full postal address (unless we are asked to do so), we require

it if the letter is to be considered So, please include your full postal addressand callsign with your E-Mail All letters intended for publication must beclearly marked ‘For Publication’ Editor

1000 Talk-in on S22 GB2LOW There will be three lectures by notable speakers, superb in-hall catering, trade stands, Bring & Buy, Construction Challenge and lots more

April 28

Aldridge & Barr Beacon ARC Rally Contact: Charles

Tel: (01922) 636162 The Aldridge & Barr Amateur Radio Club (West Midlands) will be holding their 3rd Surplus Radio & Electronical Sale

at the Aldridge Community Centre, Anchor Meadow, Middlemore Lane, Aldridge, from 1030 until 1430 Admission is just 50p.

April 28 Andover Radio Amateur Club Contact: Terry G8ALR/Jim G4NWJ

Tel: (01980) 629346/(01980) 610594 The Andover club are again holding their Spring Boot Sale at the Village hall in Wildhern, Andover, Hampshire Full details are available from Terry G8ALR or Jim G4NWJ.

Radio rallies are held throughout the UK.

They’re hard work to organise so visit one soon and support your clubs and organisations

amateur radio rallies

Letters Received Via E-mail

Following in the footsteps of the

IC-746 the latest base station rig from Icom offers improved performance, new features and is destined to become a benchmark radio.

The IC-7400 is an h.f and 50 & 144MHz

base station transceiver which promises thesame performance as its predecessor, theIC-746 The IC-7400 offers a comprehsive range

of features including:

● Coverage from 1.8 to 144MHz in all modes(including RTTY) Also the receivercontinuously covers from 30kHz to 60MHzand 108-174MHz.(Specifications guaranteed1.8-29.99, 50-54 and 144-148MHz only)

● A 32-bit floating point DSP and 24-bit AD/DAconverter in the IF stage, said to dramaticallyimprove the precision and the scale of thesignal processing and providing a widedynamic range from the h.f bands rightthrough to 144MHz

● Digital i.f filter - DSP is used for the i.f filters

on all bands, removing the need for optionali.f crystal filters for bandwidth selection

● AGC loop management - The digital i.f filterand manual notch are included in the AGCloop controlled by the DSP unit

● Phase Shift Network - All of the modulationand demodulation, including f.m and RTTYutilises the DSP unit

● Digital RF Speech compressor

● Microphone equaliser

● Optional CR-338 for high frequency stability

● Memory keyer

● High contrast, easy to see l.c.d

● 102 memory channels with nine characternames

So, we think you’ll agree this radio is definitelyworth a look and if you visit the Icom stand atthe London show at Picketts Lock over theweekend of 22/23 March you will be able to see

it in its full glory With a recommended selling

price of £1568 including VAT its not a purchase

to be taken lightly but if you’ve been thinking ofbuying a new base station for your shack this has

to be worth considering! Look out for a review of

the IC-7400 very soon in Practical Wireless.

Icom (UK) Ltd., Sea Street, Herne Bay, Kent CT6 8LD Tel: (01227) 741741 FAX: (01227) 741742 Website: www.icomuk.co.uk

G1TEX becomes M3NGS!

Practical Wireless is pleased to announce that Tex Swann G1TEX now also holds the the callsign M3NGS!

Tex Swann G1TEX is now the proud

owner of the callsign M3NGS following his

succesful completion of the MorseAssessment on Sunday 3 February 2002 Tex,accompanied by two fellow members of thePoole Radio Society, took the assessment under

the watchful eye of assessor Phil Mayer G0KKL

Theassessment took

a little over oneand a half hours

to complete forall three, whichincluded coffeeand biscuits tocalm the nerves!

The PW team would like to congratulate all three

participants and would especially like to say ‘WellDone’ to Tex for becoming the magazine’s firstM3!

In case you’re wondering, the letters of thecallsign are actually Tex’s initials of his real name

He really wanted M3TEX but upon applying for it

he was told it had already been issued! Wesuggest the holder of M3TEX keeps a low profile

as Mr Swann was not a happy M3 at hearing this news!

● Morse Assesment Success

International

Marconi Day

With all the celebrations that have

taken place in recent months to

commemorate Marconi’s radio

achievements it seems like a good time

to remind you all about International

Marconi Day 2002.

This year’s International Marconi Day (IMD)

event will be held on Saturday 27 April 2002

from 0000 to 2359UTC and it’s hoped that

many operators will take to the air to join in

Organised by the Cornish Amateur Radio

Club GB4IMD the event attacts many stations

and with the Centenary celebrations that have

taken place in 2001 its’s hoped that IMD 2002

will be even more popular Full details of stations

taking part and further information can be found

at www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~straff So take

a look and why not join in?

● Brand New Radio

Foundation First!

Bangor & District ARS have just completed their first Foundation licence course.

This was the first completed course in Northern Ireland !

With the Foundation Licence now

in full swing following itslaunch on 1 January 2002many clubs are taking up the challenge of

running courses, giving members the

chance to become fully fledged

Foundationeers! Once such club is the

Bangor & District Amateur Radio

Society

Twenty-Two students attended the

course and the Newdesk is pleased to

report that all of them passed Everyone

had a great time and they are now all

eagerly awaiting their new MI3 callsigns

Mike Stevenson GI4XSF of the Bangor Club told

PW that the course was taught using Powerpoint

presentations and has very kindly offered to providecopies for other clubs if they’d like to teach the course inthis way To get a free copy send a disk and an s.a.e toMike, QTHR

The club plan to run another course later in the year

so if you fancy having a go then check out the club’s

website at http://welcome.to/bdars for full details To

whet your appetite take a look at these photos taken by

Bill Langtry GI4AAM.

● News from Northern Ireland

It’s with great regret that we learned

of Paul Essery GW3KFE’s recent death.

He was one of those really great

Amateur Radio ‘characters’, a former

regular contributor to PW, was once

the freelance Editor of our sister

publication Short Wave Magazine (and

latterly) its Amateur Radio contributor

Paul’s long time friend Ray Marden

G3MWF, wrote the following tribute and although he’s not at all familiar with

-PW - very kindly agreed to its publication:

Ray Marden writes: “I first met Paul in

about 1956 or 1957 when he invited me to his

home where he used to clarify certain points

whilst I was studying for the RAE We became

friends and remained so all these years I was

not the only budding Radio Amateur to whom

he offered a helping hand for he was always

helpful to beginners throughout his life.

Paul helped umpteen people with their

Morse training and also gave practice sessions

over the air, which I believe, was over the

Powys 144MHz repeater GB3PW He was also

an RSGB news reader via this same repeater I

know that he taught the RAE in a Harlow

College, Essex, long before he moved to

Wales

Because of his work during the years I

knew him, Paul moved about a bit and as a

result was a member of several radio clubs

including Stevenage, Harlow, the Southgate

Radio Club and the Powys Radio Club in Wales

and there may have been more! Many people will also be aware that he served as a Council Member for the RSGB and represented Powys.

Paul was a research and development engineer in electronics and the last company

he worked for, before retiring, carried out contracts for the Royal Navy I remember he told me he was always meeting Admirals and Captains down at Portsmouth!

For a period Paul was Editor of Short Wave

Magazine, also writing under the name of

Justin Cooper, and when it was sold to PW Publishing, although he relinquished the post

of freelance Editor, he continued to write for

both Practical Wireless and SWM as a contributor This he continued to do (for SWM

particularly) up until the time he was taken ill.

Some of Paul’s time was spent in the Army and I’m sure he’d held the rank of sergeant.

After leaving the Army he was on reserve for

a number of years and had to be away occasionally to attend army camps.

Well read, Paul had a wide knowledge and interests in many subjects - from railways and canals and then on to radio! On moving from East Anglia to Wales Paul became very interested and involved in the restoration of

the Montgomery Canal, together with his (also Silent Key) friend Don Watson GW3RJY During one visit to his home Paul took me to see the Welshpool & Llanfair narrow gauge

railway another passion of his!

Yes, Paul could be cantankerous at times but this was one of his endearing qualities I remember that one of his daughters once told him he was eccentric and he seemed to warm

to this label! Personally I think they threw away the mould after Paul because he was a

‘One off’ and quite a character.

Born in 1927, Paul’s health started to deteriorate two to three years ago, and he died peacefully on the 1st of February at 0805 hours His wife, two of his daughters and a grand-daughter were with him at that time.

Personally, I shall miss him greatly as will his family and them any people who knew him Paul leaves a widow, Galina, and from a previous marriage three daughters, Margaret, Jane, Katherine and son, also Paul”

Tribute From PW Editor

We were all saddened to hear of Paul’s death, and here in the Broadstone offices we’ve all got reason to remember one of life’s great characters I fully agree with Ray Marden’s comment that Paul could be cantankerous!

Yes, he could be but behind that - apparently, but misleadingly - brusque exterior there lay a heart of gold

If Paul said he’d do something he would this being further demonstrated by his activities with REMAP, the organisation which uses engineering skills and innovations to help the disabled an activity which of course attracts many Amateurs Paul was ideal for the job And I’ve much to thank him for with regard to the efforts he made in ensuring the late GW3RJY’s resting place was not forgotten

-in the corner of the little cemetery -in Kerry, not far from Newtown, Paul’s own home

We’ll miss you Paul Keep the heavenly council busy won’t you!

Rob Mannion G3XFD.

Video Viewing

For Radio

Enthusiasts

Amateur Radio Club Secretaries looking

for material to provide interesting

evenings for their club members may

now find that their job has become

easier, thanks to a new video from the

Radiocommunications Agency.

Rob Mannion G3XFD provides the

low-down on what could be an interesting videofor any radio enthusiast

“On Wednesday 6 February Kevin Nice

G7TZC, Editor of Short Wave Magazine and I were

the guests of the RA’s Baldock Monitoring station

in Hertfordshire Kevin and I were entertainedmost royally by the station staff - along with theopportunity to see the newly made video showingthe organisation’s work, before being given aguided tour around the facility - including achauffer-driven Range Rover ‘safari’ to se thevarious antennas on the huge site

However, despite our most interesting day atthe station one of the treats in store for Kevin and

I was watching the newly-produced video showingthe RA’s field and investigation work It runs forabout 20 minutes and is absolutely fascinating

Kevin and I were most impressed I canthoroughly recommend that Club Hon Secscontact the RA for the loan of the video It’ssuperb, totally unlike the usual corporate videopromotional programme, and it was actuallydirected and made by one of the RA’s FieldManagers - an Engineer himself - and shows thededication, interest and activities of the RA staffextremely well

There are also some historical shots and someaerial photography included within the

programme In fact it provides a fitting tribute tothe often misunderstood work which the RA does

on our behalf and all spectrum users

Particularly interesting are the sections dealingwith the investigations to find and prosecute ahoaxer who transmits on the police frequencies inWales (And we think we’ve got problems on ourrepeaters!) The RA are to be congratulated on thisexcellent production and in my opinion it will help

us all and also provide an interesting part of you

club’s meeting Well done RA - it shows what can be done in a well produced promotional video”.

Loan copies of the video are available (postfree) direct from the RA Those clubs interested inborrowing a copy of the video are requested to

telephone Mary McParland (Secretary to Barry Maxwell, the RA’s Director of Customer Services),

in the first instance to arrange the loan, quoting

the news item in PW (Please be aware that only a

limited number of loan copies will be available)

Mary McParland, Radiocommunications Agency, Wyndham House,

189 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SX Tel: 0207-211-0483

● Radiocommunications Agency News

UNIT 12, CRANFIELD ROAD UNITS, CRANFIELD ROAD WOBURN SANDS, BUCKS MK17 8UR.

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SQBM 100/200/500/1000 are Polycoated Fibre Glass with

Chrome & Stainless Steel Fittings 2 years warranty.

TBB3 3 Element 6mts, 2mtr, 70cms, Boom Length 1.1mts, Longest

2 metre (size 12” approx) £12 95

4 metre (size 20” approx) £18 95

6 metre (size 30” approx) £24 95

MOBILE HF WHIPS (with 3/8 base fitting)

YAGI BEAMS All fittings Stainless Steel

CROSSED YAGI BEAMS All fittings Stainless Steel

2 metre 5 Element (Boom 38”) (Gain 9.5dBd) £39 95

2 metre 7 Element (Boom 60”) (Gain 12dBd) £49 95

2 metre 12 Element (Boom 126”) (Gain 14dBd) £74 95

70 cms 7 Element (Boom 28”) (Gain 11.5dBd) £34 95

70 cms 12 Element (Boom 48”) (Gain 14dBd) £49 95

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BM33 2 X 5⁄8 wave Length 39" 7.0 dBd Gain £34 95

BM45 3 X 5⁄8 wave Length 62" 8.5 dBd Gain £49 95

BM55 4 X 5⁄8 wave Length 100" 10 dBd Gain £69 95

70CMS VERTICAL CO-LINEAR BASE ANTENNAS

MULTI PURPOSE ANTENNAS

MLP32 TX & RX 100-1300MHz one feed, S.W.R 2:1 and below

over whole frequency range professional quality

IVX-2000 Freq RX 0-2000 Mhz, TX 6 mtr 2.0 dBd Gain, 2 mtr

4dBd Gain, 70cms 6dBd Gain, Length 100" £89 95

MR 214 2 Metre 1⁄4 wave (3⁄8 fitting) £3 99

MR 614 6 Metre loaded 1⁄4 wave (Length 56") (3⁄8 fitting) £13 95

MR 644 6 Metre loaded 1⁄4 wave (Length 40") (3⁄8 fitting) £12 95

(SO239 fitting) £15 95

DUAL BAND MOBILE ANTENNAS

PROFESSIONAL MOBILE GLASS MOUNT ANTENNAS

MICRO MAG 2 Metre 70 cms Super Strong 1" Mag Mount

SO239 fitting commercial quality £19 95

MRQ500 2m/70cms, 1/2 wave & 2x5/8, Gain 2m 3.2dB/5.8db

70cms Length 38" SO239 fitting commercial quality £24 95

MRQ750 2m/70cms, 6/8 wave & 3x5/8, Gain 2m 5.5dB/8.0dB

70cms Length 60" SO239 fitting commercial quality £39 95

TRI BAND MOBILE ANTENNAS

MRQ800 6/2/70cms 1/4 6/8 & 3 x 5/8, Gain 6m3.0dBi/2m 5.0dB/70

7.5dB Length 60" SO239 fitting commercial quality £39 95

1⁄2WAVE VERTICAL FIBRE GLASS (GRP) BASE ANTENNA 3.5 dBd (without ground planes)

Please mention Practical Wireless when replying to advertisements

UNIT 12, CRANFIELD ROAD UNITS, CRANFIELD ROAD WOBURN SANDS, BUCKS MK17 8UR.

MRW-300 Rubber Duck TX 2 Metre & 70 cms RX 25-1800 Mhz

Length 21cm BNC fitting £12 95

MRW-301 Rubber DuckTX 2 Metre & 70 cms Super Gainer RX

25-1800 Length 40cm BNC fitting £14 95

MRW-232 Mini Miracle TX 2 Metre 70 & 23 cms RX 25-1800 Mhz

Length just 4.5cm BNC fitting £19 95

MRW-250 Telescopic TX 2 Metre & 70 cms RX 25-1800 Mhz Length

14-41cm BNC fitting £16 95

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25-1800 Mhz Length 21cm SMA fitting £19 95

MRW-210 Flexi TX 2 Metre & 70cms Super Gainer RX 25-1800 Mhz

Length 37cm SMA fitting £22 95

All of the above are suitable to any transceiver or scanner Please

add £2.00 p+p for H/held antennas.

70 cms (Length 26”) £24 95

2 metre (Length 52”) £24 95

4 metre (Length 80") adjust top section £34 95

6 metre (Length 120") adjust top section £44 95

RG58 best quality standard per mt 35p

RG58 best quality military spec per mt 60p

Mini 8 best quality military spec best quality per mt 70p

RG213 best quality military spec per mt 85p

H200 best quality military coax cable per mt £1 10

PHONE FOR 100 METRE DISCOUNT PRICE.

6” Stand Off Bracket (complete with U Bolts) £6.00

9" Stand off bracket (complete with U Bolts) £9.00

12" Stand off bracket (complete with U Bolts) £12.00

12” T & K Bracket (complete with U Bolts) £11.95

18” T & K Bracket (complete with U Bolts) £17.95

24” T & K Bracket (complete with U Bolts) £19.95

36” T & K Bracket (complete with U Bolts) £29.95

3-Way Pole Spider for Guy Rope/ wire £3 95

4-Way Pole Spider for Guy Rope/ wire £4 95

11⁄2" Mast Sleeve/Joiner £8 95

2" Mast Sleeve/Joiner £9 95

Solid copper earth rod 4' £9 95

Turbo mag mount (7”) 3⁄8 or S0239 £14 95

Tri-mag mount (3 x 5”) 3⁄8 or SO239 £39 95

Stainless Steel Heavy Duty Hatch Back Mount with 4 mts of

coax and pl259 plug (3⁄8 or SO239 fully adjustable with

turn knob) £29 95

Stainless Steel Heavy Duty Gutter Mount with 4 mts of coax

and PL259 plug (3⁄8 or SO239 fully adjustable with

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Convert your g5rv half size into a full size with only a very small

increase in size Ideal for the small garden £19 95

INDUCTORS

TRAPS

BEST QUALITY ANTENNA WIRE

The Following Supplied in 50 metre lengths

Enamelled 16 gauge copper wire £9 95

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Multi Stranded Equipment wire £9 95

Flex Weave £27 95

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MOUNTS

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AR-300XL Light duty UHF\VHF £49 95

YS-130 Medium duty VHF £79 95

RC5-1 Heavy duty HF £349 95

RG5-3 Heavy Duty HF inc Pre Set Control Box £449 95

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ANTENNA ROTATORS

3 Core 0.45p per metre

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11⁄2" Diameter 2 metres long £16 00

13⁄4" Diameter 2 metres long £20 00

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REINFORCED HARDENED FIBRE

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SHORT WAVE RECEIVING ANTENNA

POLES H/DUTY (SWAGED)

MD37 SKY WIRE (Receives 0-40Mhz) £29 95

Complete with 25 mts of enamelled wire, insulator and choke

Balun Matches any long wire to 50 Ohms All mode no A.T.U.

required 2 "S" points greater than other Baluns.

MWA-H.F (Receives 0-30Mhz) £29 95

Adjustable to any length up to 60 metres Comes complete with 50

mts of enamelled wire, guy rope, dog bones & connecting box.

TRI/DUPLEXER & ANTENNA SWITCHES

MD-24 (2 Way Internal Duplexer) (1.3-35 Mhz 500w) (50-225 Mhz

300w) (350-540 Mhz 300w) insert loss 0.2dBd SO239 fittings £22 95

MD-24N same spec as MD-24 “N-type” fitting £24 95

MD-25 (2 Way external/Internal Duplexer) (1.3-35 Mhz 500w)

(50-225 Mhz 300w) (350-540 Mhz 300w) insert loss 0.2dBd £24 95

Tri-plexer 1.6-60Mhz (800w) 110-170Mhz (800w) 300-950Mhz (500w)

SO239 fitting £49 95

CS201 Two way antenna switch, frequency range 0-1Ghz, 2.5 Kw

Power Handling SO239 fittings £18 95

CS201-N same spec as CS201 “N-type” fitting £28 95

CS401 4-way antenna switch £29 95

Heavy Duty Ali (1.2mm wall)

G.A.P.12 1/2 wave alumimum (length 18' approx) £16 95

G.A.P.58 5/8 wave aluminium (length 21' approx) £19 95

SALES 01908 281705

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FULL HALF Standard £22 95 £19 95

G5RV Wire Antenna (10-40/80 metre)

All fittings Stainless Steel

E&OE

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SX 144/430 DUAL BAND SWR METRE

Accurate SWR and power metre with cross needle instrument.

TRAPPED WIRE DI-POLE ANTENNAS

(Hi Grade Heavy Duty Commercial Antennas)

HBV-2 2 BAND 2 ELEMENT TRAPPED BEAM

FREQ:20-40 Mtrs GAIN:4dBd BOOM:5.00m LONGEST ELEMENT:13.00m POWER:1600

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ADEX-3300 3 BAND 3 ELEMENT TRAPPED

BEAM FREQ:10-15-20 Mtrs GAIN:8 dBd BOOM:4.42m LONGEST ELE:8.46m

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ADEX-6400 6 BAND 4 ELEMENT TRAPPED

BEAM FREQ:10-12-15-17-20-30 Mtrs GAIN:7.5 dBd BOOM:4.27m LONGEST ELE:10.00m

POWER:2000 Watts £499 95

40 Mtr RADIAL KIT FOR ABOVE £99 00

BAHF-4 FREQ:10-15-20-40 Mtrs LENGTH:

1.70m HEIGHT: 1.20m POWER:

300 Watts £129 95

VR3000 3 BAND VERTICAL

FREQ: 10-15-20 Mtrs GAIN: 3.8 dBd HEIGHT:3.80m POWER:2000 Watts (without radials)

POWER: 500 Watts (with optional radials) £89 95

OPTIONAL 10-15-20mtr radial kit £34 95

VR5000 5 BAND VERTICAL FREQ:10-15-20-40-80 Mtrs

GAIN:3.5 dBd HEIGHT:4.00m RADIAL LENGTH:2.30m

(included) POWER: 500 Watts £169 95

EVX4000 4 BAND VERTICAL FREQ:10-15-20-40 Mtrs

GAIN:3.5 dBd HEIGHT:6.50m POWER:2000 Watts (without radials) POWER:500 Watts (with

optional radials) £99 95

OPTIONAL 10-15-20mtr radial kit £34 95

OPTIONAL 40mtr radial kit £12 95

EVX5000 5 BAND VERTICAL FREQ:10-15-20-40-80

Mtrs GAIN:3.5 dBd HEIGHT:7.30m POWER:2000 Watts (without radials) POWER:500 Watts (with

optional radials) £139 95

OPTIONAL 10-15-20mtr radial kit £34 95

OPTIONAL 40mtr radial kit £12 95

OPTIONAL 80mtr radial kit £14 95

EVX6000 6 BAND VERTICAL

FREQ:10-15-20-30-40-80 Mtrs HEIGHT:5.00m RADIAL LENGTH:1.70m(included) POWER:800

Watts £249 95

EVX8000 8 BAND VERTICAL

FREQ:10-12-15-17-20-30-40 Mtrs (80m optional) HEIGHT: 4.90m RADIAL LENGTH: 1.80m (included) POWER: 2000

Watts £269 95

80 MTR RADIAL KIT FOR ABOVE £79 00

UTD160 FREQ:160 Mtrs LENGTH:28m POWER:1000 Watts £44 95

MTD-1 (3 BAND) FREQ:10-15-20 Mtrs LENGTH:7.40 Mtrs

PL259/7 for mini 8 £1 00 each

BNC (Screw Type) £1 00 each

BNC (Solder Type) £1 00 each

N TYPE for RG58 £2 50 each

N TYPE for RG213 £2 50 each

SO239 to BNC £1 50 each

PL259 to BNC £2 00 each

N TYPE to SO239 £3 00 each

All prices plus

£6.00 P&P per order

16 Practical Wireless, April 2002

Please mention Practical Wireless when replying to advertisements

IDLAND

DCSS 48 Clear Speech Digital Speaker

Max Current: 500ma

Audio Output: 6 Watts

Input Imp: 8 Ohm

Max Input: 5 Watts

Output Power: 30watts

Input Power: 1-4watts

Current Drain: 5 amps

For use with all VHF

Handhelds Turn your

Handheld into a mobile One

NW-770S

Freq:144/430 Mhz Gain:0/2.15 dB Power:100 Watts Con:SO239 Length:0.43m £24.95

NR-770R

Freq:144/430 Mhz Gain:3.0/5.5 dB Power:200 Watts Con:SO239 Length:0.98m £27.95

AZ-504

Freq:144/430 Mhz Gain:0/3 dB Power:50 Watts Con:SO239 Length:0.46m £24.95

AZ-506

Freq:144/430 Mhz Gain:2.15/4.5 dB Power:50 Watts Con:SO239 Length:0.67m £29.95

AZ-506B

(as 506 but in black) £29.95

CR627

Freq:50/144/430 Mhz Gain:2.15/4.5/7.2 dB Power:200 Watts Con:SO239 Length:1.69m £49.95

NW-1000

Freq:144 Mhz Gain:2.15 dB Power:200 Watts Con:SO239 Length:1.09m £29.95

NW-1001

Freq:144 Mhz Gain:3.0dB Power:150 Watts Con:SO239 Length:1.41m £34.95

M-285

Freq:144 Mhz Gain:2.15 dB Power:200 Watts Con:SO239 Length:1.09 £14.95

M-150GSA

Freq:138-174 Mhz Gain:0 dB Power:200 Watts Con:SO239 Length:0.51m £12.95

X-30

Freq:144/430 Mhz Gain:3.0/5.5 dB Power:150 Watts Length:1.3m £49.95

X-50

Freq:144/430 Mhz Gain:4.5/7.2 dB Power:200 Watts Length:1.7m £54.95

X-200

Freq:144/430 Mhz Gain:6.0/8 dB Power:200 Watts Length: 2.5m £79.95

X-300

Freq:144/430 Mhz Gain:6.5/9.0 dB Power:200 Watts Length:3.1m £99.95

X501N EXTREME

Freq:144/430 Gain:8.3/11.7 dB Power:200 Watts Length:5.2m £129.95

V-2000

Freq:50/144/430 Mhz Gain:2.15/6.2/8.4 dB Power:150 Watts Length:2.5m £99.95

F-22A

Freq:144 2x7/8 Gain:6.7 dB Power:200 Watts Length:3.2m £69.95

F-23A

Freq:144 3x5/8 Gain:8.3 dB Power:200 Watts Length:4.6m £89.95

UV-200 HIGH

EFFICIENCY ANTENNA Freq:144/430

Gain:6.0/8.0 dB Power:200 Watts Length:2.1m £59.95

UV-300 HIGH EFFICIENCY ANTENNA

Freq:144/430 Gain:8.3/11.7 dB Power:200 Watts Length:4.8m £99.95

Length:40cm Gain:2.15 Con:BNC £19.95

RH-707 Flexi-Tilt Rubber Duck

Length:21cm Con: SMA £22.95

SRH-536 Super Flexi Gainer SMA

TX:144/430 RX: 100-900 Mhz

Length:37cm Con:SMA £24.95

All Prices plus £2.00 p+p

Professional Quality Amateur Antennas

DORSET Bournemouth Radio Society Contact: Chris Ellis M5AGG

Tel: (01202) 893126

Website: brswebsite.reserve.co.uk The Bournemouth Radio Society meets on the 1st & 3rd Friday of every month at the Kinson Community Centre, Millhams Road, Kinson, Bournemouth at 1930hours for

an 2000 start Meetings scheduled for the forthcoming

weeks include: April 5: Radio Ramble - a talk by Bill Journeaux and 19th: Construction night Go along you’ll

be very welcome!

ESSEX Chelmsford ARS Contact: David Bradley M0BQC

The picture shows Iain G0OZS (centre) demonstrating PSK31 at a recent club meeting On the left is club treasurer Brian G3CVI adjusting the a.t.u Iain captivated the audience of some 65 members with a first class presentation on PSK31 Trevor M5AKA produced a CD-ROM containing a number of different PSK31 and SSTV programs which was distributed to members at the end of the meeting.

Photo by Martin M1FDE.

KENT Bredhurst Receiving & Transmitting Society Contact: Martin M0AAK

E-mail: Martinm0aak@yahoo.co.uk

Website: www.the-brats.net/www.wig1.co.uk The Bredhurst

Receiving &

Transmitting Society (BRATS) meet on Thursdays at 2015hours at Rock Avenue Working Mens Club, Rock Avenue, Gillingham, Kent In the coming months the club are running a series of Foundation courses, the next one

starts on 9 May and there will be commencing in

October too So why not sign up?

MANCHESTER West Manchester Radio Club Contact: Paul M0CPT/Les G4HZJ

Tel: (01204) 457807/(01942) 870634

E-mail: g4hzj@btinternet.com

Website: www.wmrc.org.uk The West Manchester Radio Club, meets every Thursday

at the Astley & Tyldesley Miners Welfare Club, Gin Pit Village, Meanley Road, Astley Nr Leigh at 2000hrs approx, new members are especially welcome The Club runs Foundation, Novice, Morse appreciation classes, and also 5w.p.m Morse tests on demand They are also planning a trip to the Drayton Manor Radio Rally at subsidised prices Contact the club direct for more details.

Keep those details coming in!●

Keep up-to-date with your local club’s activities and meet new friends by joining in!

amateur radio clubs

The Perfect

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Looking for a satellite receiver that’s

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Then the latest offering from

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The very latest WorldSpace Satellite

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● Crystal Clear Radio at your fingertips

Global

Broadcasting

Guide

Find your way around the broadcast

bands with the help of the latest

edition of the Global Broadcasting

Guide.

Published by the Association for

International Broadcasting twice a year the

Global Broadcasting Guide is a

comprehensive directory of listings for all of the

world’s English-language radio and television

stations Giving information on what station is

on the air at what time, it helps the reader find

the right frequency in the mass of short wave

radio, satellite and Internet broadcasts that are

on the air at any one time

Whether you want to listen to live sports

commentary and results from Australia, or

financial news from Japan, or world music from

Africa, the choice is there, 24 hours a day via

international broadcasting The Global

Broadcasting Guide is one of the best sources of

information about how and when to listen to all

this and more

The Global Broadcasting Guide is available

now from the PW Book Store and costs £2.25 plus £1 P&P UK, £2.50 P&P overseas Don’t miss out - order your copy today!

PW Book Store

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● In Stock Now!

Hello and welcome to

the occasionalcolumn that, althoughit’s called Tex’s Tipsand Topics, its reallyabout your ideas, tips and tricks

Though this month it’s really just the

one tip, that’s an addition to last

month’s Antenna Workshop!

An interesting letter arrived from

PW’s occasional author Allan

Wightman, as a follow-up to the his

Antenna Workshop in the March

issue of PW It’s not often that Allan

can find the time to get off his

ladders to write but this time he

thought “There’s a tip for PW

readers in this one” - hence the

letter to me

Alan tells me that he’d had to

return to the disabled Amateur

-whose antenna problems were the

subject of Antenna Workshop - to

do a very unusual job indeed He

wrote: “I’ve done some unusual

jobs in my time - includingfabricating a Faraday screen over awooden shed used for radiomonitoring purposes - but whichalso had interference from a nearbypowerful transmitter - but I’ve justfinished laying my first chicken wirenetting ‘ground plane’ earth mat on

a garage roof” I liked the play onwords Alan!

It turns out that Allan had to visit his customer and he found thatthe disabled Amateur was using a

re-‘loaded’ (Alan’s term - it was in fact

a Pro-AM 7MHz mobile whip)attached to a metal plate using athree-magnet mobile antenna base

The Amateur was getting goodresults, even though the antennawas mounted in the middle of thegarage’s flat roof (See March issue)with only a simple ground-planeprovided by two heavy wirescrossing the roof diagonally andconnected the earthy side of themobile mounting

Simple Solution

With ideas buzzing in his head (soAllan told me in the letter) hethought he had a simple solution

Allan then explained to thecustomer how he’d been involved

in providing a simple - but veryeffective Faraday screen - at theradio monitoring site So, why notuse some chicken wire netting onthe roof to provide an improvedearth mat/groundplane?

Unfortunately for Allan, The ideawas accepted immediately! So,when Allan was next passing hefound the roll of galvanised nettingwaiting for him and it was a simplejob to roll it out over the roof,anchoring it at the sides withgalvanised nails The netting stripswere then soldered at intervals (it’seasy to solder when new) Soldering

is best done with a butane handtorch, by wrapping solder aroundthe joints to be made and then

wrapping them in one layer of

aluminium foil - with the roofing felt underneath being protected by

an old tin tray or something similar during the soldering Apply the gas

torch - wait for the flux smoke todisappear and the job’s done!The finished job left the mobileantenna base sitting right in thecentre of the garage roof TheAmateur has opted to use this for7MHz options, but the whip could

be changed quite easily by an bodied person

able-When it comes to relaying theroof - with a heavy quality roofingfelt the netting will be left in place -sandwiched (A chicken sandwichAlan?) under the new layer, or elselaid on the roof itself, with the newfelt laid over it Neat idea eh? Allan

is now waiting for his first AmateurRadio customer to ask him to laychicken wire netting under theirlawn Anyone got a turf cuttingmachine for hire? Tex

Continued on page 00●

● GOT A TIP OR A TOPICAL QUESTION? SEND IT IN!

Tips & Topics

Tex’s

Valve & Vintage PW March 2002 p42

An early, uncorrected, version of Fig 1, the circuit diagram of the Low Voltage Valved Receiver, was printed on page 42 of the March 2002 issue of PW

The corrected diagram is shown here

Above And Beyond

A Simple Short Wave Receiver PW March 2002

p38

On page 39 of the description of the project, in the

third column, in the paragraph beginning “The value

of the capacitor C2 ” that reference should have

been to “ the capacitor C4 ” Also the reference to

‘C2’ in the formula in the fourth line of the same

para-graph should be changed to ‘C4’

Again on page 39, in the right hand column, third

from final line the reference to “C4” should be

changed to ‘C6’ Then immediately over the page, the

reference to “Resistor R4 ” should be ‘Resistor R3 ’

And finally in the Shopping List, the 220µF capacitor

referred to as “C8”, should refer to ‘C11’ instead

My sincere apologies for these errors Editor

4Aerial

1

2

3

6+Phones

5-

+4.5V

0VEarth

W S 1 7 5 9 a

Errors & Updates

Tex’s

QT-100 GF 144/70, 3/6dB (1.1m) £39.95 QT-200 GF 144/70, 4.5/7.2dB (1.7m) £54.95 QT-300 GF 144/70,6.5/9dB (3m) £69.95 QT-500 GF 144/70, 8.5/11dB (5.4m) £125.95 QT-627 GF 50/144/70, 2.15/6.2/8.4dBi (2.4m) £69.95

COPPER ANTENNA WIRE

Enamelled (50m roll) £12.95 P&P £5 Hard drawn (50m roll) £13.95 P&P £5 Multi-Stranded (Grey PVC) (50m roll) £9.95 P&P £4 Flexweave (H/duty 50 mtrs) £30.00 P&P £5 Flexweave H/duty (20 mtrs) £15.95 P&P £5 Flexweave H/duty (50 mtrs) £30.00 P&P £5 Flexweave (PVC coated 20 mtrs) £18.95 P&P £5 Flexweave (PVC coated 50 mtrs) £40.00 P&P £6.50 Copper plated earth rod (4ft) £13.00 P&P £6 Copper plated earth rod (4ft) + 10m wire £18.99 P&P £6

“W E ’ VE SOLD 100 S ALL OVER E UROPE ”

★ 1.8 - 60MHz HF vertical ★ 15 foot high ★ No ATU or

ground radials required ★ (200W PEP).

40 mtrs Traps (a pair) £25.00 P&P £4

80 mtrs Traps (a pair) £25.00 P&P £4

10 mtrs Traps (a pair) £25.00 P&P £4

15 mtrs Traps (a pair) £25.00 P&P £4

20 mtrs Traps (a pair) £25.00 P&P £4 1kw

BALUNS & TRAPS

STANDARD G5RV

Full size 102ft £24.00 P&P £6

Half size 51ft £21.00 P&P £6

Multi-stranded PVC coated heavy duty flexweave wire All parts replaceable Stainless steel and galvanised fittings Full size - 102ft.

2m 5ele crossed (boom 64"/9dBd) £79.95

2m 8ele crossed (boom 126"/11dBd) £99.95

1 1 ⁄ 2 " Dia £8.50 per metre P&P £10

1 3 ⁄ 4" Dia £10.50 per metre P&P £10 2" Dia £12.50 per metre P&P £10 Fibreglass available up to 5m lengths.

NB W E CAN ONLY DELIVER UP TO 2.5 M LENGTHS

6 section telescopic masts Starting at 2 1 ⁄ 2 " in diameter and finishing with a top section of 1 1 ⁄ 4 " diameter we offer a 8 metre and a 12 metre version Each mast is supplied with guy rings and stainless steel pins for locking the sections when erected The closed height of the 8 metre mast is just 5 feet and the 12 metre version at 10 feet All sections are extruded aluminium tube with a 16 gauge wall thickness.

8 mtrs £99.95 12 mtrs £139.95 Carriage £10.00.

Telescopic mast lengths are approx.

METAL WORK & BITS

2" Mast base plate £12.95 P&P £5 6" Stand off £6.95 P&P £5 9" Stand off £8.95 P&P £5 12" T&K Brackets £12.00 P&P £8 18" T&K Brackets £18.00 P&P £8 24" T&K Brackets £20.00 P&P £8 10mm fixing bolts £1.40 each

U bolts (1 1 ⁄ 2 " or 2") £1.20 each

8 nut universal clamp (2" - 2") £5.95 2" - 2" cross over plate £10.95 3-way guy ring £3.95 4-way guy ring £4.95 2" mast sleeve £9.95

1 1 ⁄ 2 " mast sleeve £8.95 Standard guy kits (with wire) £23.95 P&P £6 Heavy duty guy kits (with wire) £26.95 P&P £6 Ground fixing spikes (3 set) £18.00 P&P £6 30m pack nylon guy 4.4m/B/load 480kg £10.00 P&P £2 30m pack (3mm dia) winch wire £16.00 P&P £4 Self amalgamating tape (roll) £6.50

‘Nylon’ dog bone insulators £1.00 each

Set A: 5 section 21ft long (1 1 / 8 ") mast set

MAST HEAD PULLEY

A simple to fit but very handy mast pulley with rope guides to avoid tangling (Fits up to 2" mast).

Bulk purchase hence2 for £7.95(P&P £2.50)

INTERFERENCE STOP IT

4 x 5' lengths of approx 2"

extruded (16 gauge) heavy duty aluminium, swaged at one end to give a very heavy duty mast set.

OUR LOW PRICE

20ft BARGAIN MAST SET

NEXT DAY DELIVERY TO MOST AREAS, £10.00.

Q-TEK PENETRATOR

Q-TEK COLINEARS

Tripod for telescopic masts £89.95

REPLACEMENT PARTS

5m length 300 Ω twim feeder h/duty £5.00 P&P £3

10m length 300 Ω twin feeder h/duty £10.00 P&P £3

Q-TEK PENETRATOR

1.8-30MHz (200W PEP) mobile antenna – no ATU

required Length 102" (52" collapsed) Fits 3/8 mount

(SO239 feed point)

INTRO PRICE£129.95 delivery £10

Optional magnetic base £24.95

Optional body mount (hole) £12.99

Roof bar mount requires cable kit £9.95

80mtr inductors + wire to convert 1 ⁄ 2 size G5RV into full

size (Adds 8ft either end) £24.95 P&P £2.50 (a pair)

20ft BARGAIN MAST SET

BARGAIN MAST SETS

FIBRE GLASS MASTS

A LL MEASUREMENTS ARE APPROX

MA5V New vertical 10, 12, 15, 17, 20m £229.95 £215.00

MA5B Mini beam 10, 12, 15, 17, 20m £299.95 £269.95

A3S 3 ele beam 10, 15, 20m £459.95 £389.95

A4S 4 ele beam (10-20m) £529.95 £449.95

R-6000 Vertical 6, 10 , 12, 15, 17, 20m £329.95 £289.95

X-7 7 ele 10, 15, 20m £669.95 £579.95

CUSHCRAFT ANTENNA SALE

Starter kit includes charger & 4 x AA cells.

£14.99+ £2.50 P&P.

Please note that only the special cells can be recharged with this charger.

Extra cells available @ 8 x AA pack £10.99 £1 P&P

4 x AA pack £5.99 £1 P&P 4 x AAA £6.25 £1 P&P Rechargeable Alkaline No memory effects 1.5V cells 3 x capacity of nicads.

RECHARGEABLE ALKALINE CELLS

Delivery £10.00

RS-502 1.8-525MHz (200W) £79.95 P&P £5 RS-102 1.8-150MHz (200W) £59.95 P&P £5 RS-402 125-525MHz (200W) £59.95 P&P £5 RS-3000 1.8-60MHz (3kW) Incls mod meter £79.95 P&P £5 RS-40 144/430MHz Pocket PWR/SWR £34.95 P&P £2

Superb quality

Glassfibre construction

DB-770M 2m/70cm (3.5 - 5.8dB) 1m PL-259 £24.95 DB-7900 2m/70cm (5.5 - 7.2dB) 1.6m PL-259 .£39.95 PL-62M 6m + 2m (1.4m) PL-259 .£19.99

MOBILE ANTENNAS

HAYDON

Mail order: 01708 862524 WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE PLEASE VERIFY PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE

BEFORE ORDERING E&OE NEXT DAY DELIVERY TO MOST AREAS, £10.00.

➠

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Choke Balun Inline balun for G5RV £24.95 P&P £3

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PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE PLEASE VERIFY BEFORE ORDERING E&OE.

best seller HF + 6m + 2m + 70cm 2 year warranty.

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New all mode multibander: HF/50/144/430 optional 1200MHz Optional UT-20 (1200MHz module) £299.00

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Features:★Over voltage protection ★Short circuit current limited ★Twin illuminated meters

★Variable voltage (3-15V) latches 13.8V ★Additional “push clip”

DC power sockets at rear ★Multiple front outlets

★Detatchable IDC lead (supplied) for mains connection SSP £119.00. Superb 30 amp/12V

● Size: 57 x 177 x 190mm

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2m + 70cm handheld with built-in modem and APRS Buy one this month before the price increase £289.00

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2m + 70cm transceiver with built-in modem and APRS facility Optional extended Rx available £439.00

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ONLY£219.95 P&P £6 MFJ-269 160-70cm analyser £299.95 MFJ-949 300W ATU + dummy load £135.00 MFJ-969 HF + 6m ATU £169.95 MFJ-962D 1.5kW versa tuna £239.95 MFJ-784B DSP filter £199.95 UK VERSIONS

UK VERSION

OPTIONAL LEADS (P&P £1.50) A-08 8 pin “Alinco” round £9.95

K-08 8 pin “Kenwood” round £9.95

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AM-08 Modular phone “Alinco” £9.95

IM-08 Modular phone “Icom” £9.95

KM-08 Kenwood modular lead £9.95 Spare foram wind guard (M.C.) £2.00 each

(with up/down) Every amateur using this mic (over 2000) has expressed extreme pleasure with it’s performance.

200W instant auto ATU Tune any length of wire with this superb ATU (Minimum length applies.) Worlds best selling smartuner!

OUR PRICE£319.00

Optional earth stake £13.00 Smart lock £59.95

Please mention Practical Wireless when replying to advertisements

LATEST UK MODEL10

Free PS-1225 power supply with above

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Transceiver & scanner 2m/70cm Tx (5W).

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KENWOOD TH-F7E

+ FREE HEADSET 10

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PTT Fits most, Kenwood, Alinco, Yaesu, Icom, EP-320‘K’, fits Kenwood Please specify make.

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Nissei EP-320

Heavy duty rotator for HF beams, etc Supplied with circular display control box and 25m of rotator cable GC-

038 Lower mast clamps £25.00 GC-065 2" Thrust bearing £48.00.

OUR PRICE£329.00 P&P £10 G650C £389.00

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OUR PRICE £139.00 P&P £10 Optional Power supply £16.99

J UMBO WALL / DESK CLOCK

● Wide screen/2" digit time display ● Barometer

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10

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WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OUR CUSTOMERS FOR SUPPORTING US OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS TO SAY

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New comprehensive scanner (25-1300MHz) Alpha Tag, PC clonning control.

Smart scanner + trunk track facilty.

Extremely user-friendly hand-held reciever with outstanding performance unmatched

BNC 40cm flexible whip for the ultimate in gain.

OUR PRICE £21.95 P&P £1.50

REGULAR-GAINER RH-770

Tx:- 144/430MHz Rx:- 25MHz-2GHz

BNC 21cm flexible whip that is ideal as replacement.

OUR PRICE£16.95 P&P £1.50

SUPER-GAINER RH-9000

10

★ Superb performance

SW receiver ★ 30MHz (all mode)

0.2-★ Selectable tuning steps (down to 100Hz)

★ 240 or 12V ★ Digital S-meter ★ Attenuator ★ Key pad

entry ★ 160 memories ★ Noise blanker Was £299.00.

Send S AE for review

The short wave receiver for the true enthusiast.

● 0.03-60MHz (all mode)

● Synchronous AM detection

‘A first!’ TV/video picutre & sound!

Certainly a gadget for the future – see things you didn’t know existed! A wide-band scanner covering 0.5-2.3GHz (AM/FM/WFM) with “TFT” colour display.

OUR PRICE £379.00

ICOM IC-R3

Not for the faint-hear ted!

Now with “voice prompts” as well as direction indication.

Incl’s: Map CD, 32 meg cart &

data card, power lead & mount.

The ultimate in talking GPS’s.

OUR PRICE £899.00

STREET PILOT III

Now with 19 meg of memory &

map, CD, power lead, data lead

& auto route facility Includes trip computer with average &

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OUR PRICE £469.00

GPS V

A fully adjustable desk top stand for use with all hand-helds Fitted coxial lead with BNC + SO239 connections.

QS-300

OUR PRICE £10.00 P&P £3.00

Superb quick fit dash mount for helds £9.99.

hand-OUR PRICE £4.99each

A1306 (old A13) A13 from Basildon

M25 (from north) M25 (from south)

A1306 (Wennington)

Circus Tavern

From London

Now that you’ve

(hopefully) got agood quantity ofresistors andcapacitors fromthe ‘Goody Bags’ I

recommended, we’d better look

at how best to sort, store and

use them to advantage To

start I’m going to suggest

you spend some time now

so that you can save even

more time later!

Firstly, I strongly

recommend that despite the

temptation to leave sorting out

the small components

(resistors and capacitors) until

they’re needed - that you

actually do it as soon as you

can I recommend this because

(from much personal

experience and anguish) I’ve

made the mistake of not

sorting out what’s needed

before starting a project

Hunting for a necessary

component can lead to

frustration and can make your

eyes play tricks on you,

especially when you’re

desperate to get something

finished Believe me - it’s all

too easy for your eyes to

convince your brain, or vice

versa, that the component

you’re looking at is the correct

value when in fact it’s not!

The basic resistor colour

code is provided in the

diagram, Fig 1 It’s simple

and easy to use, but you do

have to take some precautions,

especially when the

body/background colour used

by the manufacturer can

darken the coloured bands

-and this can be made worse

when the component is dirty

from being in storage

The diagram, Fig 2, shows

a typical resistor, 4.7kΩ(4,700Ω - the Ω sign representsohms) a very common valuewhich often appears in RadioBasics (RB) circuits Pleaserefer to the colour chart tofollow the identification

The first colour on theexample resistor is Yellow,representing 4, which isfollowed by violet whichrepresents 7, and this if

followed by the red band The last band is important and represents the multiplier - number of noughts In this

case it’s means that twonoughts (zero if you wish)

Thus the bands reprent 4 7

-0 - -0 or 4,7-0-0 ohms.

In radio constructional work

we find it more convenient to

say ‘Four point Seven K’.

The reference decimal ‘point’ 7

is used so because 700 isactually 7/10ths or 0.7 of 1000

- hence 4.7kΩ

Resistor colour codes canplay tricks on the eyes,especially if they are small1/8th watt types and it’s best

to have good lighting in theworkshop For the olderconstructors - I include myself

in this category - who are atthe bifocal lens stage of life Iurge you to consider one of theilluminated workshopcombined lamps/low powermagnifying lens units

Often equipped with a

‘daylight’ bulb of around 60Wthe workbench lamp/lens unitsare very cheap nowadays and

be of immense help in radioconstructional work In fact, Ithoroughly recommend them

for everyone to use, as theyhelp relieve eyestrain

A Final Check!

Until you become moreexperienced, there’s always achance you might get caughtout with colour

codes especially on lowvalues For example, if youcame across (or needed) a 47Ωresistor you might be misledinto thinking it would onlycarry the coloured ringsrepresenting 4 (Yellow) and 7

(Violet) whereas in fact it would carry Yellow, Violet and Black!

Why black? Well inanswering, don’t forget the lastband is the multiplier and zeromultiplied by zero is zero! So,the 47Ω resistor would beYellow, Violet and Black Onthe other hand a 470Ω resistorwould display the following

identification: Yellow, Violet, Brown The Brown colour

represents the figure 1,meaning that there is one zero(or nought) to be added

However, even when you areexperienced, if you’ve ever gotany doubt on the values of aresistor (some come with extrabands which have been added

to show special tolerances,etc.) it’s always best to check

out the values with your meter Don’t be concerned ifyour test-meter shows that theresistance is 10 to 15%different to that expected Inpractice this is quite common.The only resistor typeswhich are really accurate(sometimes as with ±1% of thestated value - which is usuallymarked on the side of thecomponent) are wire woundtypes However, although thesetypes are accurate, you should

test-be aware that they can only test-beused in a circuit where theirinductance (the wire windingcan appear to the circuit to be

a small coil)

Generally speaking, youshould try to avoid any wirewound resistance in a radiofrequency (r.f.) circuit, unlessit’s specified you can use them.(At v.h.f the self-inductance of

a wire wound resistor can actlike a small choke somewhich can be used toadvantage!)

I won’t go into any moredetails regarding wire woundtypes This is because they’renormally very clearly markedwith details printed inminiature writing (get thatlens out!) on the side of thecomponent

However, before leaving thisaspect of resistor, I recommend

Last month Rob Mannion G3XFD

described the advantages of buying

components in ‘Goody Bags’ And now

that you’ve (hopefully!) stocked up with

capacitors and resistors, Rob describes

how to use them to best advantage.

● Fig 1: The basic resistor colour code The first coloured band is the first figure, followed by another coloured band representing another figure The third band usually represents the ‘Multiplier (see text).

that you snap up wire wound

types when you see them as

when they’re bought new (if

you can get them) they’re very

expensive I recently had to

buy a specific value for a

project and it cost the

equivalent of one of the

Goody Bags!

Sorting & Storing

When it comes to sorting

and storing wire-ended

resistors there are as

many choices as there

seems to be values! If you

have the funds available

there’s nothing to stop you

going to one of the may

d.i.y outlets and buy a

suitable unit with as many

plastic sliding drawers as

you require

Although more

expensive I heartily

recommend that you

purchase a metal framed

cabinet - if you’re to buy

rather than build (as I’m

about to suggest) Try to

avoid the all plastic

cabinets, many plastic

materials ‘work harden’ in

natural sunlight as the

ultra-violet rays gradually

effect the strength of the

material Don’t forget,

that if you’ve got a

workshop in the garage or

in a shed, the ultra-violet

will come streaming in

even on an apparently dull

day!

Even though most of the

steel-framed (the outside

cabinet is steel, often

enamelled and fairly rigid)

multiple drawer units sold

at d.i.y outlets tend to be

made in China nowadays,

they seem quite robust I

was quite surprised

recently when I discovered

that the extremely robust

all-steel toolbox with drop

in tool compartment was

made in China! That old

joke ‘I’ve got a Chinese

Copy’ has turned full circle

now because the ideas are

originating in that cheap

labour country now, they

don’t need our ideas, only

our custom (incidentally,

it’s an excellent tool box

and I bought it from

Halfords for £17)

Lack Of Space

The problem for many of us

when it comes to storing

components is space or thelack of it! My little custom-made wooden shack had thatproblem at first I could haveeasily filled it up with

cupboards for componentsafter I’d installed the woodenshelving

Instead, I decided to use asystem I had adopted manyyears ago - with the advantage

that I could tailor it to my ownrequirements something youcan very easily do yourself, bymodifying my own approach Idon’t claim it as an original

but have not seen anyone elseusing the same idea!

To make the storage unit allyou need is several lengths ofthe relatively soft plasticpiping (various diameters are

sold - choose one to suit yourneeds bearing in mind thesize of your fingers, dexterityand then umber of resistors to

be stored), a backing board,adhesive, time andpatience! Then all youneed to do is to cut thetube into short sections,just a little longer thanthe resistors to bestored in them (use alittle jig made out of twopieces of wood so thatyou saw cuts arestraight)

Once you’ve gotenough of the tubes forthe storage rack you’remaking (they can bemade to fit in anyconvenient corner of theworkshop) you can thenstick one end of the cuttube onto the backingboard with adhesive.You can also use a littleadhesive to attachadjacent tubes to eachother

A thin strip of plastic,card or any othersuitable material can bearranged to cover theopen ends of the tubes ifthey’re to be usedmounted on a wall ortransported so thatthey don’t fall out andyou have to re-sortthem! The value of thecomponent stored ineach tube can then bewritten/typed out on astrip of paper and stuckinside the tube

Another idea is tomake groups of 20 or sotubes, stuck down ontothe base board - insimilar fashion to theplastic mouldedpencil/pen office ‘tidies’you can buy Providedwith a little carryinghandle and lid - withthe value of theresistors stored directlybelow each section ofthe lid itself andcomponentidentification andretrieval is simple.Try the idea foryourself, it’s extremelysimple and theadvantage to you is thatyou can make the baseboardand subsequent size/shape ofthe storage unit to suityourself! Happy sorting andstoring!

● Fig 4: The resistor shown here is a 470 Ω (four hundred and seventy ohms) value Note that the last colour is in fact Brown This means that there’s one multiplier (a zero) to be added - making it 4 (yellow) 7 (violet) 0 Brown Don’t be misled into thinking that the resistor is a

471 Ω value, (see text).

Introduced into the UK market

about a year ago, the

Kenwood TS-2000 is a

multi-mode, multi-band transceiver,

packed with a profuse range

of features and facilities The

transceiver covers the h.f., v.h.f.,

u.h.f., the S and L bands It covers

13 Amateur bands in all, on all

modes transmit and receive A

dealer modification is available to

extend the receive only

capability, enabling reception of

Weather satellites and aircraft

frequencies

To achieve this complex but

compact design, the Kenwooddesigners have used computerbased digital technology Themain CPU operates at 100MHz,and utilises two 16bit DigitalSignal Processing (DSP) chips; theDSP features 24 bit A/D and D/Aconverters

General Construction

Overall dimensions are 281 x 107

x 371mm Beneath the top andbottom 1.2mm steel covers, lies arobust 4mm tri-sectional die castchassis Below the top cover is a

1.2mm anodised screen, which issecurely bolted on to the top ofthe die-cast chassis and a furtherseparate 1mm plate screens theantenna tuning unit (a.t.u.)compartment These provideexcellent mechanical andelectrical screening properties

For L-band operation on the1200MHz band, Kenwood supply

an optional unit, UT-20, whichfits into a side compartment of thedie-cast chassis The front panelhinges downwards for serviceaccess A thermostaticallycontrolled fan is provided

Front Panel

Using two menus and dualfunction keys, the controls aregrouped in two parts of the frontpanel, 35 controls and buttons onthe left and 26 on the right,including three concentriccontrols These controls dividefurther into sub buttons with the

Func (function) and C-IN/Call

buttons on the front panel Asingle button, different in shapeand size and colour to the rest,enables the Satellite mode to beentered, a total of 10 memoriesare available to enter each

Continued on page 00●

●ANOTHER LOOK AT THE KENWOOD TS-2000

Satellite Succe

satellite designation and its mode

of operation, f.m., l.s.b./u.s.b., and

FSK etc

A button marked Trace, enables

up-link and down-link frequencies

to be tracked upwards together or

in reverse together For doppler

correction either up-link or

down-link can be independently adjusted

but still maintaining the Trace

feature Two v.f.o.s are provided

for the main transceiver and an

A/B button toggles between the

two A control button marked

CTRL enables either the main

Transceiver or the AM/FM

sub-receiver functions The main

receiver operates on a.m., c.w.,

s.s.b., f.m and FSK, and the

second or sub receiver only on

a.m./f.m bands (This sub receiver

can be switched on and off as

required, by pushing the

concentric knob marked

SUB/AF/SQL, on the front panel

One of the controls marked

MULTI/CH carries out a variety of

functions including setting of

tuning rates ranging from 1kHz to

1MHz Fine tuning is adjustable

down to 10Hz steps The main

tuning control is centrally located

A smaller knob marked RIT/SUB

on the top right of the panel tunes

the sub- receiver

A button marked ATT for the

main receiver provides r.f

attenuation of 12dB, while another

marked Pre at top left of panel

provides r.f pre-amplification forboth receivers Internally separatepre-amplification is provided foreach band (I found that thisshould be switched on for allsatellite operations)

Rear Panel

There are a total of 15 connectionsavailable for use These comprisetwo HF/50MHz PL259 connectorsfor separate antennas, a groundpost for earth connection, two c.w

key jacks (one for a paddle type,

to work with the built-in electronickeyer and the other for a standardkey) There’s an external antennatuner connection terminal, a

PL259 connector for 144MHz and

an N socket for 430MHz An Nsocket on a flying lead is providedfor the 1296MHz (23cm) antenna

The transceiver has a 13.8Vd.c supply socket for connection

to the external power supply, 9-Pin

full duplex, asynchronous, RS232Csocket for a computer connection(a connection point is provided for

a secondary RC 2000 remotepanel, for mobile use)

Two external speaker socketsare provided for outputs from theMain and Sub Receivers (Theseare menu selectable and provide achoice of three options)

A connection point is provided

for a 50/144/440MHz/1.2GHzlinear amplifier There’s also anaccessory connector, ACC2, for

an Ext TNC/RTTY terminal and anexclusive 7-pin DIN connectionpoint for an h.f linear amplifier.(an RCA type connector isprovided for a third h.f antennafor receiving only below 30MHz

First Encounter

The first encounter with thetransceiver can be a little dauntingand it will certainly take a littletime to work round the variousfeatures and modes! It’s almostessential to keep the 143-pagemanual close at hand to quicklycheck out any particular function.The manual itself is quite wellstructured, and easy to read Itstarts off with a ‘quick start’introductory chapter, followed by

a detailed explanation of the item menu, which then takes youthrough the more detaileddescriptions of the rest of thetransceiver

cess with the TS-2000

Peter Perera G4AJG really has had some fun operating on the Amateur Radio

satellites with the help of the Kenwood TS-2000 Read on to share the experience!

● Peter uses the G3RUH modified 600mm dish with DB6NT 2.4GHz pre-amplifier.

Photo courtesy of Kenwood Electronics UK.

The front display shows the

antenna that’s in use For instance,

an h.f beam can be connected to

one, and a 50MHz or long wire

antenna to the other

The automatic antenna tuner

(a.a.t.u.), tunes each antenna and

more importantly, its tuning

capacitor setting is memorised

together with the setting of each

frequency for the frequency

selected An audible c.w warning

sounds if the s.w.r is excessive,

useful especially when you’re

carrying out antenna tests

As I’ve mentioned already,

there’s an RCA connector provided

on the rear panel for a receive

only antenna feed for frequencies

below 30MHz which is enabled

via Menu 18

Frequency Lock Features

Both electrical and mechanical

means are available for ‘locking

onto a given frequency These

include mechanically, by sliding a

friction clutch at the bottom inner

edge of the main tuning knob

Sliding it to left to gives free

rotation of the knob or to the right

locks it firmly

Locking can also be done

electrically, by using the Func and

Att/Lock buttons to toggle the lock

on or off When it’s locked electronically, F Lock appears on

the display At the same timecertain defined keys and controlsonly are disabled Alternatively a

Lock All feature is also available

when all keys and controls aredisabled

Useful Safety Feature

I found the Transmit Inhibit Function to be a very useful safety

feature, when using converters on 2.4GHz Thisprotects the receive path from

down-accidental operation of the Send

button, which could push r.f

power up the wrong way to thedown converter

Digital Signal Processing

Digital Signal Processing isprovided in both the i.f and a.f

stages The bandwidth of the i.f

signal can be varied in steps atboth the high and low ends, viatwo separate knobs provided onthe front panel

The TS-2000’s DSP is a veryeffective feature especially on a.m

and c.w modes giving a significantreduction in both adjacent channelQRM and band noise In the c.w

mode a centre shift feature is alsoavailable to tune out any adjacentinterfering signal (I also found ituseful when copying telemetryfrom AO-40, reducing thebandwidth at the top endsignificantly improved copy

The DSP is also provided at thea.f stage with heterodynecancelling features available, bothautomatically and manually In thelatter mode it acts as a manual a.f

notch on all modes, most effective

in c.w mode and the c.w ‘autotune’ is a further feature avoidingthe necessity to continually re-adjust the tone

Noise Reduction

Apart from the standard Noiseblanker designed to reduce pulsenoise, such as vehicle ignition,Kenwood have introduced twotypes of noise reductiontechniques, acting digitally These

they term LAC - Line Enhancer Method NR1 and SPAC Speech Processing/Auto correlation NR2.

This latter employs a specialstatistical /correlation algorithm tolift up low-level signals from thenoise floor

The correlation time is useradjustable in 10 steps between 2-20ms These settings showed asignificant improvement in signalclarity in the c.w modeThe NR2 setting automaticallyforms a filter profile centred aboutthe signal and enables cleaners.s.b signals In practice, I foundthey produced a markedimprovement in signal clarity Toreduce the total system noiseproduced between the 2.4GHzreceive antenna and the receiver,the use of the beat cancel featuretogether with NR1 was effective

Satellite Operation

Table 1, lists the various satellites

worked during the period of radioevaluation The antennas I usedwere multi element crossed Yagis,

on v.h.f and u.h.f bands andprime focus dishes for S band AO-

40 Satellite operation The antennasystem was controlled by anautomatic tracking device, drivingmotors providing both elevationand azimuth movement

The feed from the 600mm dish

is led into a suitable converter, which converts theincoming 2.4GHz signal from theAO-40 Satellite to an intermediatefrequency band of 144-145MHz ,

down-to be detected on the transceiver’sv.h.f band Two of these down-converters were ex-TV itemsmodified with Murata filters, togive lower noise and re-crystalled

at 8.125MHz to give the correctfrequencies

The down-convertor finallyselected was a custom-built unitfrom SSB Electronics GMBH Thishas a noise factor of 0.8dB andgain of 25dB

The lack of a 13.8V d.c supply(at say 30mA maximum) at the

144 and 430MHz antennaterminals, was a bit of a let down

I say this because, the peripheralsatellite equipment such as thealready mentioned 2.4Ghz to144MHz down-converters, requirethe d.c supply to be fed via the r.f.coaxial feeder

Maybe in future productionmodels the supply could beincorporated? This would alsoenable external mast mounted pre-amplifiers to be used for reception

of low signal satellites such as

AO-10

No Problems

There were no problems at allwhen I operated on the latest andmost ambitious Amateur satellite,AO-40 And even at poor ‘Squintangles’ (i.e orientation of satelliteantenna to your ground station)and I made many DX contacts.The beacon could easily belocated and even visually seen onthe ARCP computer screen displaysub window The Trace mode

enabled by pressing the Trace

button, provides the reverse modetracking to be set, so that theoperating frequency andtransmitting frequency are kept intrack However, you can makeindependent adjustments on either,yet keeping the up and downtracking intact It was very useful

to separately include (in one of thespare memory channels) thebeacon frequency This is so that itcan be instantly switched in, touse with the that excellent

program AO-40Rcv by AE4JY The

use of another telemetry

programme, P3T and the G3RUH,

PSK dedicated modem was alsovery smooth and flawless

(UTC) (MHz) Call Sign Comment

12.23.01 50.125 VY1JA Keep it up-OK Si 19:48:49

12.23.01 14084 FM5DX Paul 19:50:41

12.23.01 14201 W5RRR NASA ARS Houston 19:50:22

12.23.01 28.367 WB9PVA CQ 19:52:00 /M0VIL

Satellite Uplink Freq: Downlink Freq: Beacon Freq: Mode

ISS 149.990 145.800 Packet & Voice

Note: Where the ± symbol is shown, then Doppler shift must be taken into account.

AO40 is of course the new Phase 3D Satellite.

● Table 1: The table shows a selection of the satellites worked by Peter G4AJG.

● Table 2: The table shows part of a typical display of information as shown on the

PCTl display, when running the Kenwood ARCP2000 Computer Programme.

radio’s inherent noise was very

low, the combination gave the best

performance This was further

enhanced with the SSB 2000

+G3RUH Patch and 0.3 f/D dish

combination when reception was

truly outstanding

Numerical Display

In SATL mode you can read

directly on the front panel

numerical display of the 2.4GHz

signal, i.e the 2401.350MHz

translated from the down converter

i.f frequency of 145.323MHz

(Another a nice feature) To enable

this feature, you have to access the

memory mode and select menu 25

and set display to On by pressing

the (+) button and follow the short

set of instructions on Page 79 on

the manual

In SATL receive mode you can

also directly read the located

S-Band beacon signal on say

2401.325MHz in its separate

memory setting At the same time

there’s a bonus reduction of r.f

power output on the 144MHz

band and offers a measure of

protection to the down- converter

against accidental keying of the

send button But most importantly,

I found that to make this

absolutely foolproof, its best to

switch the 144MHz transmitter off

using menu access before

commencing operations on

AO-40 This is another very attractive

feature on the TS-2000

Of the other satellites used

AO-27 was the only one to prove

problematic, as the transceiver

generates a heterodyne note at the

Satellite’s nominal frequency In

fact the manual shows several beat

harmonics, and its a little

unfortunate that one of these, at

436.799MHz should coincide

This limits operation of thissatellite, except when it is outsidethis frequency range due to theDoppler shift

station So either manual orautomatic frequency correctionhas to be provided

The RS232 port on the radiocan be connected and configured

to accept corrections from anautomatic tracking source such as

a PC based Winorbit Programme.

If you run the RCP programme

however, then it’s not possible torun a terminal that automaticallycontrols the receiver for Dopplercorrections at the same time

This is because the RS232port would be required to run

the RCP programme (Here a

second RS232 connector orsuitable access points for TTLlevels would be very helpfulindeed)

The S-Meter

The S-meter on the transceiver is

a multi-function type, which is

incorporated into the main panel’sl.c.d unit Its functions areselected by pressing a push button

on the front keypad, below themeter Each press of this keyswitches the meter between the

ALC, SWR and Compression

modes (The latter functions onlywhen the compressor itself is onfor either a.m., s.s.b., f.m modes)

The top of the meter iscalibrated in S-units, reading up tothe top end being S9 + 60dB (Thepower scale shows 100W at thetop end) A momentary peak holdfacility is available for each of theabove indications

The s.w.r function isunfortunately available only for theantennas on the h.f./50MHzbands It’s a pity that the designersdecided to leave s.w.r indications

on 144 and 430MHz out itwould have been very useful

especially formobile use

The bottom ofthe meter showsthe filterbandwidthsettings inreceivemodes This iscoupled visually to thefrequency bandwidth scalesoperated by two front panel

controls marked Lo/Width and HI/shift located at the bottom left

of the front panel

The sensitivity of the meterwith the pre-amplifier on seemedlow and did not reflect the audio

of the signal received I made acomparison made switching thesame signal between this radioand my FT-736 when the lattershowed a positive reading theKenwood failed to show anyindication even though theKenwood audio was louder thanthe Yaesu

However, independent lab testsmeasuring input sensitivity for

10dB signal to noisemeasurements seem to indicate thefollowing: For an S9 indication,pre-amplifier on, the input signalp.d required is about 5.4µV on144MHz For 430MHz it wasabout 4.8µV, the correspondingthreshold values being about.06µV

To test its performance I used aWimo 22t Helix, initially on one

of the Kent beacons, reception was

a good S8-9

However, on using thesame antenna on 23cm onAO-40, it was quiteapparent that even underoptimum conditions ofattitude-nearer apogee andlow squint, no return signalwas detected Using a 1mdish and a scaled version ofthe G3RUH 600mm feed, ashort helix, a low level c.w.signal was detected on the13cm downlink

I soon realised that tosuccessfully operate on the L-band uplink, a suitable linearpower amplifier of between 30-50W is needed for s.s.b., capable

of producing between 2.5 and5kW Effective Isotropic RadiatedPower (e.i.r.p) using perhaps aprime-focus dish of over a metre in

diameter Further experiments remain to be done in this area and

my comments are no reflection whatsoever of the performance of the transceiver on 23cm.

Speech Processor Impressive

The speech compressor wascertainly very impressive inoperation on AO-40 as well as onAO-10, FO-20, etc The

compression level is user

selectable via the Proc/Level

button on the front panel and can

be independently set for a.m.,l.s.b., u.s.b and f.m

The level of compression isadjustable between 0 and 100 asshown on the front display panel.With the level set at 50, the autogain control feature in this circuitkept the audio modulation at

● Screen grabs of different features of the AO40Rcv

programme

● A rather crowded working environment.

virtually the same level whether I

was 150mm or even 1m from the

microphone

The ARCP Control Program

The ARCP software (an optional

accessory) is supplied on a

CD-ROM and is designed to work on a

PC running Windows 95/98/2000

It also worked on Windows XP

(The connection required between

the radio and the computer is via a

standard straight RS232 cable)

Connecting speeds can be set

from 4800 to 57600bps Both my

computers had no difficulty in

operating across this span (Its

display and functions are very

impressive indeed)

With the program all the

various controls are now expanded

to fill the v.d.u screen and access

is made simpler Full frequency

display is shown, ‘virtually’

displaying the radio’s display

panel Complete operation on all

modes is possible via the

computer screen

Three unique and very useful

functions provided on the RCP

display are:

1: The complete display of the

Menu Hold the mouse cursor over

the button marked Menu and you

can see at a glance all the settings

you have set and alteration of any

one of them is quickly carried out

with the click of the computer

mouse

2: Scan function - a visual

graphical display of stations across

the user selected bandwidth Very

useful in detecting the main

telemetry beacon on Satellite

AO-40 and deciding where to set a

calling frequency Also useful to

observe Doppler shifts

3: Packet Cluster display If you

wish to operate the DX Cluster

mode on screen, a useful feature,

is a button on the bottom right

hand corner of the screen, which

brings up a sub screen and all the

DX cluster information is displayed

in a more easily readable format

than the rapidly moving display

appearing on the l.c.d panel

4: At the top of the screen

there’s a clever facility called

Audio Editor which enables the

user to set a variety of Low Pass,

High Pass, Band Pass and

Equaliser filters, with a

corresponding graphical display of

the filter display

A very comprehensive on

screen Help menu is also provided

and serves as a quick guide to all

the functions on the radio A out facility enables the Help file to

print-be printed for reference purposesIncidentally, I used theprogramme on both an early P133Compaq Laptop with 80Mb RAMand a more recent Dell 4100operating at 850MHz and 125MbRam with equal ease

To make the DX Packet clusterTune Facility via GB7DXH work, Iconnected a 144/430MHz verticaland an h.f wire antenna to the

appropriate sockets at andaccessed the PCT mode via thetransceiver’s menu 49 and its sub-menus

For instance, sub menu 49aenables the AUTO TUNE function

When a DX cluster data isreceived, an alarm in the form abeep or Morse code sounds Thepacket information and thefrequency data is then displayed

on the l.c.d display and on thePCT screen, if the ARCP Controlprogramme is on You can also setthe radio so that the transmitterfrequency can be auto-tuned togive any listed station a call

To gain rapid access to the PCTmode, you can log the frequencies

to the memory, so all you have to

do to access this mode, is to press

M/VFO button on the front panel

and all the parameters getautomatically set up for immediateaccess

In order to operate the RCP

Control programme and at thesame time be able to use aseparate Packet programme, asecondary RS232 port it wouldhave been useful To do this in itspresent form one would have touse an external TNC connected tothe accessory socket ACC-2 at theback

Memory Features

The radio has 300 memorychannels numbered 00 to 299,spread across three memory banks,

0, 1 and 2 For storing operatingfrequencies, modes and other data

the last 10 channels 290 to 299are designed for programmingv.f.o tuning and scanning ranges

In Satellite mode there are 10separate channels for storingsatellite data in alpha-numericformat For instance, you couldstore the AO-40 up-link anddown-link frequency and modedata (As I did) This was veryconvenient so that once you pressthe Satellite button and move thescroll facility, you set up the

relevant frequency for immediateaccess

A scroll function enablesbrowsing/viewing andmanipulation of memory contents

A separate memory controlprogramme is available to enabledirect uploading of data into thememory banks

Built-In TNC

The built in TNC is a simple twoi.c device based on AX25protocol It seems the designershad the DX cluster workingprimarily in mind and in this modeand on other terrestrial packetmodes it works very efficiently Italso works on 1200/9600BaudAFSK on satellites working on thesemodes such as UO-22

However, by being a halfduplex mode TNC, the upload filespeed was less efficient than mySymek TNC2H-DK9SJ, which isbased on the G3RUH 9600 baudsystem For serious UO-22 use anexternal TNC works better and toconnect such a TNC accessorysocket ACC2 is available (Thissocket is a 13 terminal Din

connector and the manual gives adetailed description of the facilitiesand connections available formodes such as SSTV, packet,Pactor, AMTOR G-tor, PSK31, etc.).When downloading 9.6k data fromsay UO-22 front panel, l.e.d

indicators marked Sta and Con

operate in the usual way,confirming status and connection

Voice Synthesiser

The optional VS-3 voicesynthesiser module is a userinstallable plug-in optional unit It’squite straightforward to installunder the bottom cover A number

of announcements are availableand clearly detailed in the manual.Examples are frequency, menunumbers, S-meter readings etc You

can program the front panel PF key

so that the displayed information isalso announced

Digital Recording

Another user installable optionalunit is the DRU-3A digitalrecording unit This can record onthree separate channels, the first for

a duration of 30 seconds and theother two 15 seconds each Thisenables a pre recorded CQ call to

be made for example You can alsocombine the three channels to give

a full minute of recording time toperhaps playback to the otherstation a recording of their signal atyour QTH

Power Requirements

The transceiver requires 13.6V d.c.and consumes 2.65A on standby,18A on 430MHz, 9A on 1296MHzand 20.5A on h.f., 50 and144MHz

The Kenwood Power unit PS-33meets these requirements easily It

is a traditional linear Power unitwith a very substantial mainstransformer, 25A rectifier stack,large capacitors and a solid-stateregulator board Fan assisted,thermostatically controlled cooling

is provided at the rear of the unit

●TS-2000

Certainly A Winner!

Kenwood have certainly produced a winner here with the TS-2000 and its features are advanced enough to give Radio Amateurs ‘cutting edge technology at a reasonable price (basic price £1699) by today’s standards If Kenwood feel fit to also incorporate some of the suggestions I’ve made it can only better an already excellent design.

My thanks to David Wilkins of Kenwood Electronics UK for loan of this equipment to enable me to write this feature PPW W

Certainly A Winner!

Kenwood have certainly produced a winner here with the TS-2000 and its features are advanced enough to give Radio Amateurs ‘cutting edge technology at a reasonable price (basic price £1699) by today’s standards If Kenwood feel fit to also incorporate some of the suggestions I’ve made it can only better an already excellent design.

My thanks to David Wilkins of Kenwood Electronics UK for loan of

● Dave Roberts reviews the latest

Bearcat hand-held scanner - the

UBC280XLT Sportcat.

through the world of alternative

listening - Internet Radio - Part 3.

from John Wilson, the diminutive, but

spectacular computer controlled h.f.

receiver - the Ten-Tec RX-320 - all the

way from Dolly Parton Parkway.

the RA’s Baldock monitoring station.

late Joe Carr.

C

CR RA AM MM ME ED D F FU UL LL L O OF F E ES SS SE EN NT TIIA AL L IIN NF FO O F FO OR R A AN NY Y R RA AD DIIO O E EN NT TH HU US SIIA AS ST T

CAN YOU REALLY AFFORD TO BE WITHOUT IT?

A

Ap prriill 2 20 00 02 2 IIs ssue e O On n S Sa alle e 2 28 8tth h M Ma arrc ch h £ £3 3 2 25 5 M Miis ss s iitt!! M Miis ss s o ou utt!! S SW WM M T Th he e O ON NL LY c ch ho oiic ce e!!

Britain’s No.1

& Scanning Scene

Whether you are brand new to the hobby of radio monitoring or a seasoned DXer, there is something in Short Wave Magazine for you every month!

April 2002

S

RADIO ACTIVE APRIL ISSUE ON SALE 15 MARCH

Radio Active is published on the third Friday of each month - available from all good newsagents or direct by calling (01202) 659930, priced at only £2.50

All the usual features packed with information for the radio enthusiast

Your at-a-glance guide to the Radio Spectrum from 108-950MHz

plus our regular Broadcast Section

ANDMUCHMORE!

●BE PREPARED - CARRY YOUR EUROS WITH YOU!

In the European Union’s

Directive

AR/00023/968/142002/UBH

the EU’s overseer forAmateur Radio co-operation

Père Sottise announces the

procedures which are nownecessary for British RadioAmateurs (and those from other

EU countries who have not joinedthe Euro) to operate legally outside

their own countries The additional legislation is necessary as the introduction

of the Euro by-passes the CEPT agreement and those countries not within the Euro-zone have

in effect ‘non recognised’

currencies for CEPT purposes.

The EU - foreseeing theproblems involved with AmateurRadio operation abroad from thosecountries now operating with non-Euro currencies, have laid out theground rules for legal, trouble freeoperations away from the homecountry By following the rulesRadio Amateurs challenged fortheir licence can avoid on-the-spotheavy surcharges from EU radioauthorities, and other officials ofthe countries involved You can alsosave money on the collection of QSLcards

Euro Licence Directive

Père Sottise writes: “BritishAmateurs - along with those fromthe other EU countries not within

the Euro-zone now, in effect, have Amateur Radio Licences which although completely legal in their own countries - are not

considered as being paid up-to-date

in the Euro-zone Because of thiscertain precautions should betaken, including carrying theequivalent price of the cost of your

Licence in Euros (in notes,

carrying the name of the actual country being

traversed/operated from).

An example: For most British

Radio Amateurs travelling abroadwith their families by car, the firstcountry they enter will be Franceand Père Sottise has the following

advice to give

Carry The equivalent: Firstly,

as already advised, the RadioAmateur intending to travelthrough France and all other Euro-

zones must at all times carry the

Euro equivalent of the cost of the Amateur Radio Licence in cash (Your bank will provide the exchange rate information).

This should be done so that whendemanded by officials, the correctamount can be handed over Inreturn a receipt will be given by theofficial to the travelling Amateurand eventually the full amount can

be claimed back from the UKGovernment on production of thefive-part, 20 page documents

EURO.UKLICENCE.UBF142002,

in which pages 1 to 20 on each ofthese five documents are to be filledout by the claimant, before beingcountersigned by the provider ofthe Euros (your bank) and aregistered European

Notary/Solicitor (Full lists of UKbased, EU registered Solicitors areavailable on EU form

EU/NOTARY/UK/UBF142002.

The Registered Notary is entitled tocharge a fee for providing the

Writing from the

signature but the British basedAmateur can reclaim the cost ofthis by claiming on EU form

an extra amount may be required

by the demanding officials Thisamount - varying according to therank of the official and where youare - is needed to expedite thebureaucracy involved By payingthis extra surcharge the Amateurinvolved will on occasions savemuch time

Additionally, the EU stronglyadvises all British/non Euro-zone

Radio Amateurs to carry original receipts (copies not acceptable) for the cost of their

equipment, with the costsdeclared in Euros The receiptmust be stamped andauthenticated (On EU form

EU/BANK/UK/142002/DDSO)

by the Manager of the nearestmain Clearing Bank from theAmateur’s home area, so as toprovide proof on demand fromany officials demanding to see thedocumentation

Translations: Although

translations of the relevantoriginal receipts for the cost ofthe Amateur Radio equipment

are not strictly necessary (into

French/German/Italian andSpanish) such translations are

advised (EU directive 0000/569123/AR/CEPT142002

refers) to enableroadblocks/security checks to bepassed through with minimaldelay

Alternatively, in the casewhere the British/non Euro-zoneAmateur does not have thetranslations, a surcharge inEuros (notes, carrying the name

of the country involved) ispayable This surcharge will vary

- the higher the rank of theindividual inspecting officer - thehigher the surcharge (MonsieurSottise points out that in theMediterranean countries theofficials - to avoid delayingAmateurs during inspections anymore than they considernecessary - seem to bedemanding immediate payment

of the surcharge in Euros Thevisiting Amateur must ensurethat a receipt is given, otherwiseclaims for subsequent refunds

will not be successful (EU form

of 15 Euros throughout most ofthe EU However, in theMediterranean countries thesurcharge would be

approximately 30 to 40 Euros per inspecting officer.

Equipment Sealed

If a British Amateur has beenstopped by the officials of thecountry being visited, and theEuro equivalent of the price of

their licence has been paid* once

the officials will allow you driveon/carry on operating - afterissuing you with an officialtemporary Licence

The licence (published in thelanguage of the country involved)will permit you to be able tooperate in that country A stickercarrying the EU reference

of local officials, the numberinvolved and the speed at which

the visiting non Euro-zoneAmateur wishes to pass throughthe formalities

*Editorial note regarding free licences: If you are in

possession of an Amateur RadioLicence issued free of charge here

in the UK- you are advised toapply for form

EU/GRATIS/AR/008972342/142 002/UK/CYM/GAEL (the UK

letters denotes English language

version whereas the suffix CYMdenotes Welsh language, andGAEL, Scottish Gaelic languageversions) On applying for theform from your local EU regional

office, please delete the languages not required -

otherwise you will beautomatically sent the form inEnglish, Welsh (South & NorthDialects, Scottish Gaelic)together with the automaticreceipt of the official EUlanguages version

Green Stamp Disappears

Collecting QSL cards - whether it

be for DX QSOs or closerEuropean contacts - still remains

a popular aspect of the AmateurRadio hobby However on ‘EuroDay’ a traditional method ofpayment (for European QSLs atleast) disappeared overnight asthe ‘Green Stamp’ (theubiquitous Dollar bill) wasreplaced by the 5 Euro note

To advise keen QSL cardcollectors Père Sottise writes:

“When sending QSL cards direct

-5 Euro notes must replace the

US$ note It is illegal* to use anything other than the Euro note within the Euro Zone.

(EU directive EU/QSL/US$/£/142002 refers).

*Note: American Dollar bills

found in letters (by the specialdetectors now being providedthroughout the Euro Zone) will

be automatically removed fromthe postal chain The letters willthen be opened, the Dollars beingremoved and then they will bereplaced by the equivalent inEuros The sender of the letterwill then be sent an additionalsurcharge of 5 Euros, plus apostal opening charge of 5 Euros,plus the VAT of the countryinvolved, together (for UK letters)with the VAT of the UK plus the

extra surcharge* (with VAT

added to this) demanded byConsignia (formerly known asthe Royal Mail)

*Editorial note: This

surcharge with VAT on top of VAT will have already been

experienced by readers who have been sent gifts from (for example) the USA and the sender has forgotten to mark the item as a

‘gift’ The recipient is charged for opening the package, with VAT added on top of the duty

demanded Editor.

European Rallies

“Finally (writes Père Sottise from

EU headquarters in Brussels) Ihave some good news for BritishRadio enthusiasts who attend thevarious Amateur Radio Meetings

(we know them as rallies Editor)

in the Euro- zone The good news

is that because Ryan Air - the

Irish Airline specialising incheaper fares, operates from theEuro-zone (Ireland hasabandoned the Punt for the Euro)many obstacles have beenovercome - especially as theairline now flies to Friedricshafen

on Lake Constance (Bodensee)from the UK making travel tothe popular Hamfest much moreattractive

Because (in effect) by flying in

a Euro-zone aircraft the UK

Radio enthusiast will be considered to be in Euro-zone territory immediately and

many of the obstacles will beovercome Providing that the verylow priced seats are available(they are often sold out as much

as one year in advance) travel toGermany will be available for theprice of only one Amateur Radio

surcharge! (EU Directive EU/RA/TRAVEL/00239857/1420

02 refers).

The last word must go to PèreSottise who finished his letter to

PW with: “Bon Voyage mes

amis and enjoy your vacance

in the Euro- zone”! PPW W

g

● Be prepared for Euro Zone surcharges when you travel with your Amateur Radio equipment in countries which have adopted the Euro currency Writing from EU headquarters in Brussels, Père Sottise provides much useful guidance and advice Follow his directions and you won’t be fooled by bureaucracy!

42 BROOK WALSALL,

42 BROOK WALSALL,

WEB SITE: http://www.radioworld.co.uk

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Open Mon-Fri 9.30 - 6.00pm Sat 9.30 - 4.00pm

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WE ARE 5 MINS AWAY FROM J11 M6

Main dealers for Alinco, Icom, Yaesu & Kenwood

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GC-048 Mast clamp for G-2800SDX RWP £39.00

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AKD 4001 4m TRANSCEIVER £130

AKD 6001 6m FM TRANSCEIVER £135

ALINCO DJ-580E 2/70CM HANDY TRANSCEIVER £140

ALINCO DJ-G1 HANDY TRANSCEIVER £120

ALINCO DJ-G5EY DUAL BAND HANDY £199

ALINCO DJ-X1 RECEIVER £90

ALINCO DJ-X10 WIDE BAND RECEIVER £275

ALINCO DR-140 2M MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £120

ALINCO DR-150E 2M 50W MOBILE TRANSCEIVER .£140

ALINCO DR-M06 6M FM TRANSCEIVER .£160

ALINCO DR-M065X 6M 10Watt MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £140

ALINCO EDX-1 ATU £140

AOR AR-1500 HANDY SCANNER 0-1500M /72 £99

AOR AR-3000 WIDE RECEIVER £350

AOR AR-3000A WIDE RECEIVER £475

AOR AR-3030 HF / VHF RECEIVER Inc converter VHF £450

AOR AR-3030 HF RECEIVER £399

AOR AR-7030 TOP RECEIVER £550

AOR AR-7030+ HF RECEIVER (With AM Filter,

Optical Encoder) £650 AOR AR-8000 WIDE BAND RECEIVER £199

AOR AR-8200 mk1 WIDE BAND RECEIVER £230

AZDEN PCS-4000 2M TRANSCEIVER £99

BNOS AMPLIFIER 432-10-50 70CM 50Watt £99

CAPLO SPL-3000 ANTENNA TUNING UNIT £199

DRAKE SW-8 WORLD BAND RECEIVER £375

DRESSLER D200 2M MAINS AMPLIFIER 400Watt £399

FAIRHAVEN RD-500 WIDE BAND RECEIVER £575

ICOM AT-150 AUTO ATU £175

ICOM AT-500 AUTO ATU £275

ICOM IC-2000H 2/70 MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £170

ICOM IC-2100H 2M MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £150

ICOM IC-251 2m MULTIMODE TRANSCEIVER £295

ICOM IC-275E 25W TRANSCEIVER £525

ICOM IC-275H 2M MULTIMODE 100W TRANSCEIVER £575

ICOM IC-290H 2M MULTIMODE MOBILE

TRANSCEIVER £250 ICOM IC-2KL AUTOMATIC LINEAR AMPLIFIER + PSU £999

ICOM IC-3230H 2-70CM MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £160

ICOM IC-471E 70CM BASE MULITMODE

TRANSCEIVER £299 ICOM IC-490E 70cms MULTIMODE MOBILE

TRANSCEIVER £265 ICOM IC-728 HF TRANSCEIVER £399

ICOM IC-730 HF TRANSCEIVER MINT! £400

ICOM IC-735 HF TRANSCEIVER £400

ICOM IC-737 HF BASE BUILT IN ATU 100W £595

ICOM IC-737 HF inc ATU BASE STATION

TRANSCEIVER £575 ICOM IC-746 TRANSCEIVER £899

ICOM IC-756 HF / 6m All Band Transceiver .£999

ICOM IC-756PRO ICOM TRANSCEIVER .£1,699

ICOM IC-765 HF BASE TRANSCEIVER £800

ICOM IC-775DSP HF 200W BASE STATION

TRANSCEIVER £1,499 ICOM IC-820 2-70CM BASE STATION 50Watt £599

ICOM IC-821H VHF / UHF MULTIMODE TRANSCEIVER £699

ICOM IC-910 2/70 CM BASE TRANSCEIVER +

23CM UNIT £1,100 ICOM IC-R2 HANDY SCANNER £99

ICOM IC-R3 SCANNER + TV £299

ICOM IC-R7000 RECEIVER MINT! CONDITION £550

ICOM IC-R72 RECEIVER £399

ICOM IC-R75 HF / 6m RECEIVER £475

ICOM IC-T81E QUAD BAND HANDY 2m/6m/23cm/70cm £250

ICOM IC-T8E HANDY TRANSCEIVER £175

ICOM IC-W21E HANDY TRANSCEIVER £199

ICOM PCR-1000 COMPUTER SCANNER £200

ICOM PS-15 20A POWER SUPPLY FITS ALL ICOM £110

ICOM PS-85 POWER SUPPLY £175

ICOM R-75 HF RECEIVER £400

ICOM SP-20 SPEAKER £120

ICOM SP-21 LOUDSPEAKER, BOXED £55

ICOM T-7E 2/70CM HANDY TRANSCEIVER £170 ICOM T-8E 2/70CM 6M HANDY TRANSCEIVER £185 ICOM UT-84 TONE SQUELCH UNIT £25 ICOM IC-2SET 2M HANDY £89 ICOM IC-R71E RECEIVER .£399 JRC JST-245 DSP HF 50MHz 1500w AC BASE

TRANSCEIVER £1,295 JRC NRD-535 HF RECEIVER £600 KANTRONICS KAM PLUS TNC £220 KENWOOD DFC-230 FREQUENCY CONTROLLER £70 KENWOOD PS-20 10A POWER SUPPLY FITS TR-9130 ETC £55 KENWOOD PS-430 POWER SUPPLY £100 KENWOOD PS-50 POWER SUPPLY £145 KENWOOD R-5000 RECEIVER £499 KENWOOD SP-950 LOUDSPEAKER £90 KENWOOD SW-2000 SWR METER £60 KENWOOD TH-22E 2M HANDY TRANSCEIVER £89 KENWOOD TH-25E HANDY TRANSCEIVER £49 KENWOOD TH-47E HANDY TRANSCEIVER £100 KENWOOD TH-75E 2/70 HANDY TRANSCEIVER £125 KENWOOD TH-78E 2/70CM HANDY TRANSCEIVER £175 KENWOOD TH-79E HANDY TRANSCEIVER £189 KENWOOD TL-922 HF LINEAR AMP 1Kw (AS NEW!) £899 KENWOOD TM-231E 2M MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £120 KENWOOD TM-241E 2M MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £120 KENWOOD TM-251E MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £140 KENWOOD TM-255E 2m MULTI-MODE MOBILE

TRANSCEIVER £400 KENWOOD TM-455E 70CM MULTIMODE MOBILE

TRANSCEIVER £495 KENWOOD TM-733 2/70 MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £225 KENWOOD TR-751E 2M MULTIMODE TRANSCEIVER £350 KENWOOD TR-851E 70CM MULTIMODE MOBILE

TRANSCEIVER £395 KENWOOD TS-120 HF SOLID STATE MOBILE £225 KENWOOD TS-450S HF TRANSCEIVER £499 KENWOOD TS-450SAT HF BUILT IN ATU EXCELLENT

TRANSCEIVER £575 KENWOOD TS-530SP HF MAINS 100Watt TRANSCEIVER £275 KENWOOD TS-680 HF 6M MOBILE/BASE TRANSCEIVER £400 KENWOOD TS-690SAT HF 6M Inc ATU .£650 KENWOOD TS-711E SM BASE STATION TRANSCEIVER £399 KENWOOD TS-790E 2/70CM BASE STATION TRANSCEIVER £699 KENWOOD TS-790E 2m / 70cm MULTIMODE BASE

TRANSCEIVER £799 KENWOOD TS-811E 70cms MULTIMODE BASE

TRANSCEIVER £399 KENWOOD TS-830S HF TRANSCEIVER £325 KENWOOD TS-850SAT HF TRANSCEIVER MINT! £800 KENWOOD TS-870SAT HF/DSP-IF-100W BUILT IN ATU

TRANSCEIVER £999 KENWOOD TS-950SD HF/ 150W DSP BASE TRANSCEIVER £1,100 KENWOOD TSB-2000 LATEST KENWOOD - COMPUTER

CONTROLED £1,299 KENWOOD VFO-120 £50 KENWOOD VFO-180 EXTERNAL VFO £75 KENWOOD VS-1 VOICE SYTHESISER £30 KENWOOD VS-2 VOICE SYTHESISER £30 KENWOOD YG-455CN-1 270Hz CW CRYSTAL FILTER .£100 KENWOOD YK-88A-1 AM FILTER £40 KENWOOD YK-88C-1 500Hz CW NARROW FILTER £40 KENWOOD YK-88CN1 270Hz CW FILTER 8.83MHz IF £40 KENWOOD YK-88S-1 2.4KHz SSB NARROW FILTER 8.83MHz IF £40 KENWOOD YK-88SN 1.8K SSB FILTER (TS-440 /R5000) £40 KENWOOD YK-88SN-1 1.8KHz SSB NARROW FILTER 8.83MHz IF £40 KENWOOD PS-430 POWER SUPPLY £120 LINEAR AMP CHALLENGER II CHALLENGER AMPLIFIER 11 2kW £1,400 LOWE HF-150 SW RECEIVER £150 LOWE HF-250 INCLUDES REMOTE CONTROL £300 MCL MCL1100 EASY READER £75 MFJ MFJ-414 MORSE CODE TRAINER £120 MFJ SET-UP 971-9015-4114 PORTABLE 21MHz £299 MICROSET PT-135 POWER SUPPLY £80 MICROWAVE MODULES 28/144 TRANSVERTER 28/144 £125 PACCOM TINY 11 TNC £99 PACCOM TNC-320 TNC £90 PLESSEY PR-2250 HF RECEIVER BEST QUALITY

CLASSIC! £1,200

QM 70 28/144 TRANSVERTER £100 RACAL RACAL 1792 HF RECEIVER £499 REALISTIC PRO-2037 SCANNER BASE £99 REALISTIC PRO-394 HF RECIEVER £99 SGC SGC-2020 HF TRANSCEIVER £450 SOMMERKAMP FT290R 2m MULTI-MODE TRANSCEIVER £180 SONY ICF-SW77 FM/SW/MW/LW PORTABLE AS NEW! £250 SONY SW-100E FM/SW/MW/LW PORTABLE £90

ST3 HEADPHONES DELUXE HEADPHONES £45 SYNCRON PS-1220VU 20 AMP POWER SUPPLY £60 TAGRA 22AMP POWER SUPPLY £70 TENTEC SCOUT + MODULES £350 TIMEWAVE DSP-9+ £125 TOKYO HY-POWER HL-30V 2M and 25W AMPLIFIER £75 TOKYO HY-POWER HL-37V LINEAR AMPLIFIER £60 TONNA 7000E TERMINAL £130 TRIO R-2000 RECEIVER + CONVERTER £300 TRIO TR-9130 2M ALL MODE TRANSCEIVER £250 TRIO TRIO 9130 2M MOBILE MULITMODE

TRANSCEIVER £250 TRIO TS-780 DUAL BAND BASE TRANSCEIVER £275 WELZ AC-38M 200W MOBILE MATCHING NETWORK £50 WELZ SP-15M SWR & POWER METER £20 YAESU FC-102 1.2KW ATU WITH 4 WAY SWITCHING

UNIT £200 YAESU FC-20 AUTO ANTENNA TUNER FOR 847/FT100 £175 YAESU FC-902 ATU 500W £140 YAESU FL-2100Z HF AMPLIFIER £450 YAESU FP700 POWER SUPPLY £100 YAESU FP-757HD HEAVY DUTY POWER SUPPLY £120 YAESU FRG-100 HF RECEIVER £300 YAESU FRG-7700 HF RECEIVER £220 YAESU FRG-8800 RECEIVER INCLUDES CONVERTER £399 YAESU FRT-7700 ATU MINT! £75 YAESU FRV-7700 UHF CONVERTER MINT! £80 YAESU FT-1000MK5 200W DSP HF TRANSCEIVER £2,600 YAESU FT-1000MP AC HF BASE DSP TRANSCEIVER

(Late serial no) £1,550 YAESU FT-1000MP DC BASE TRANSCEIVER £1,200 YAESU FT-101ZDmk111 HF TRANSCEIVER inc FM £375 YAESU FT-225RD 2M BASE MULTIMODE CLASSIC! .£399 YAESU FT-23R HANDY TRANSCEIVER £180 YAESU FT-2500M MOBILE TRANSCEIVER .£190 YAESU FT-290RMK1 2M ALL MODE TRANSCEIVER £180 YAESU FT-290RMK11 MOBILE 2M MULTIMODE

TRANSCEIVER £275 YAESU FT-411E 2M HANDY TRANSCEIVER £99 YAESU FT-41R HANDY TRANSCEIVER £120 YAESU FT-470 2/70CM HANDY TRANSCEIVER £140 YAESU FT-650AC 26-50MHz 100w BASE SATATION

TRANSCEIVER £599 YAESU FT-690MK11 6M MULTIMODE MOBILE

TRANSCEIVER £295 YAESU FT-690RMK1 6M MULTIMODE MOBILE

TRANSCEIVER £250 YAESU FT-690RMK11 6M PORTABLE .£375 YAESU FT-726R 2 / 70 / HF TRANSCEIVER £400 YAESU FT-726R 2 / 70 / 6m TRANSCEIVER £575 YAESU FT-730R 70CM MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £120 YAESU FT-736R 2/70/6/23CM TRANSCEIVER £1,050 YAESU FT-736R 2m / 70cm TRANSCEIVER £650 YAESU FT-736R 2m / 70cm / 6m TRANSCEIVER £750 YAESU FT-7400 70cm MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £160 YAESU FT-747GX HF TRANSCEIVER £399 YAESU FT-747GX TRANSCEIVER £299 YAESU FT-757GXMK11 TRANSCEIVER MINT! £400 YAESU FT-757MK1GX HF TRANSCEIVER £375 YAESU FT-767GX HF BASE 100watt built-in ATU £599 YAESU FT-77 INCLUDES FM MINT! £275 YAESU FT-790R 70CM MULTIMODE MOBILE

TRANSCEIVER £225 YAESU FT-7B HF 50W MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £199 YAESU FT-80C 0-30MHz COMMERCIAL TRANSCEIVER.£375 YAESU FT-8100 2/70cm MOBILE TRANSCEIVER £249 YAESU FT-811E 70CM HANDY TRANSCEIVER £99 YAESU FT-847 HF / 2 / 6 / 70cm BASE TRANSCEIVER £999 YAESU FT-900 HF TRANSCEIVER £550 YAESU FT-902DM HF BASE TRANSCEIVER £400 YAESU FT-920AF HF/6M BASE WITH DSP £899 YAESU FT-980 HF TRANSCEIVER £495 YAESU FT-990AC HF BASE STATION TRANSCEIVER £750 YAESU FT-ONE HF BASE TRANSCEIVER £450 YAESU FTV-901 TRANSVERTER Inc 2m Mod £165 YAESU FV-707 VFO UNIT £99 YAESU SP-8 LOUDSPEAKER Including Audio Filters £100 YAESU VFO-102 MINT CONDITION! £199 YAESU VR-5000 TOP RANGE SCANNER RECEIVER £500 YAESU VX-5R 2 / 70 / 6 HANDIE 5W £220 YAESU XF-114SN 2KHz SSB FILTER £60 YAESU YO-100 SCOPE VERY RARE! £150 YAESU YS-60 SWR METER 1.6 - 60MHz £30 YUPITERU MVT-7000 HANDY SCANNER £99 ZETAGI B-132 10 / 11m LINEAR AMPLIFIER, MAINS £60

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To most British

Amateur Radiooperators the start ofthe G-QRP club would

be seen as thefoundation of this part of ourhobby Many in fact, consider thatthe history of QRP started when

the Rev George Dobbs G3RJV

put his first request in Short

Wave Magazine

in 1974 askingfor anyoneinterested in lowpower operating

to contact him

Withoutdoubt G3RJV’sshort step in thebeginning of thelife of low poweroperatingstarted the rise

to fame of ourpresent UKclub It’s nowthe largest QRPclub in the worldwith othersgetting closer allthe time

However, the ancestry of aQRP club goes back further than

1974 In fact, it goes even furtherback into history before theAmerican QRP club (ARCI) wasfounded in 1961

Firstly though, together weshould look at the origins of thosethree little letters QRP! They canmean so much

The original author of the ‘Q’

codes would never have thoughtthat several of these codes wouldbecome nouns, and that it mightalso become a group of lettersthat would bring together such alarge body of people throughoutthe world Much friendship and

enthusiasm are based on thatlittle acronym/abbreviation QRP

The QRP Research Society

The original, and first QRP club (that we know of) was founded

not long after the end of the

Second World War in 1949 “to

widen interest in the Low Power field of Amateur Radio” (1).

What’s even more surprising isthat this new club was foundednot by a licensed Amateur, but by

a short wave listener (s.w.l.),

John Whitehead.

With the national power limit

of 150W The QRP ResearchSociety even then stuck to a 5W

input limit The QSL card, Fig 1, shown from G2HAW to GC2CNC

dated 3 Oct 1953 clearly showsunder the callsign the name of theQRP Research Society

The QRP Society, later tobecome the QRP Research Societysoon grew with a monthly

newsletter QRP discussing the

activities of its members Thearticles could just as easily be

from Sprat the journal of the

G-QRP Club as the content wasoften similar Produced on their

kitchen table by Mrs Whitehead

and then duplicated, over 200were sent out each month

I have in my possession copies

of almost all the journalspublished during the life of thisclub through 1949 and the early1950s Even an outline of a rallyheld by them in 1954, showing anATV display!

One supplement to the August

1952 issue of QRP by C E.

Sutton G3ANQ where he

mentions “twoschools exist side

by side - QRPand QRO” and

“the influx ofmany who canonly be described

as untutored orunskilled” (Isn’tthis the phrase

we still hearoccasionallytoday?)

Unfortunatelythe Society fadedinto oblivion inearly 1956 whenthe founder andsecretarychanged jobs Hispromotioninvolved longer hours and lesstime at the radio and copiermachine His letter to membersdated 28 January 1956 says that

he must resign the post ofsecretary, as he: “Had to make a

●LOW POWER IS THE MODE & IT’S GOT HISTORY!

Low Power Operation

it’s got a long history

● The man who started the modern G-QRP Club with an advert in Short Wave Magazine!

The Rev George Dobbs G3RJV and his wife Jo - about to enjoy the club’s 20th anniversary cake

- accompanied by Chairman Gordon Bennett G3DNF.

● Fig.1: The original QRP Research Society had a 5W input limit The QSL card, shown from G2HAW to GC2CNC dated 3 Oct 1953 clearly shows under the call- sign the name of the QRP Research Society (see text).

●LOW POWER IS THE MODE AND IT’S GOT HISTORY!

choice between his hobby and

his work”

It would appear that no one

was able to take over and the

Society faded into oblivion Just

think, 1999 would have been

their 50th birthday!

Five Years Later

Nothing outstanding happened

on the QRP front until five years

later in 1961 when the late

Harry Blomquest K6JSS founded the QRP Amateur Radio Club International (QRP-ARCI) (See ref 2).

However at this time the club

required a voluntary input power level of 100W in an

attempt at that time to “reducethe QRM on the bands andmake ham radio moreenjoyable” Sound familiar? Itshould do we are still gettingthe same QRM now!

The QRP-ACI clubprogressed and grew, gainingseveral hundred members overthe years In about 1977 thethen president of the QRP

ARCI, Tom K8IF was becoming

unhappy with the 100W imagethat had also become unpopularamongst the members

A poll of the membership wastaken and there was

overwhelming support for a 5Wlevel It took almost four years,but eventually the 100W image

vanished and the ARCI wastruly a QRP club It was in thelate 1970s that the club finallyaccepted the definition of QRP

as 5W c.w and 10W s.s.b

In 1970, Ade Weiss W0RSP

had started a journal called the

Milliwatt the National Journal

of QRPp The small ‘p’ denotes

a power level of less than one

1W This journal lasted until

1975 and has become almostcult reading by QRPenthusiasts, reprints changinghands often

The numbers slowly grewuntil George put out his call toarms and the G-QRP club wasfounded It took a long time forthe membership to grow to 100,and even longer to get to the

1000 mark, but the explosion ininterest in this part of the hobbyensured that by the time theclub got to its 20th birthday in

1994 it had almost 10,000 members.

Most of the increase ininterest has been down toGeorge and a few helpers whoover the years have travelledthe world, spreading the word

Visiting Dayton in USA almostannually

The way the G-QRP club isrun has also gained interestfrom abroad I well remembersitting at the breakfast tablewith George G3RJV and DougKI6DS from California in1993 Doug telling us that hewanted to start a CalifornianQRP club and run it just likeours NorCal was founded just a

few weeks later becoming one ofthe top clubs in the world.Foreign members of the G-QRP club have often startedQRP clubs in their own country.The list is long but just inEurope we have the BeneluxQRP Club, The EA-QRP Club,the EI-QRP Club, the OK-QRPClub, the I-QRP Club and morerecently the DL-QRP club.Throughout the world QRPclubs have sprung out ofnowhere, almost every state inthe USA has its own, and manyunusual ones can be found inother places

Rochdale Mini Convention

Visitors to the annual G-QRPMini Convention, held inRochdale, Lancashire haveoften been astounded by thecamaraderie found amongstenthusiasts This gatheringattracts visitors from aroundthe world yet it takes place in asmall church hall in Rochdaleeach year with about 350visitors attending The ParishChurch of Sudden in Rochdale

is the ‘home’ (actually theVicarage is just down the road!)

of Rev George Dobbs G3RJV

The ARCI event called the

‘Four Days in May’ has alsobecome a huge event bycomparison to Rochdale! Held

in conjunction with the hugeDayton HamVention in Dayton

Ohio, Fig 3, the ARCI started

it as a small gathering in onehotel room back in the late1980s

Today there are severalhundred gathered for the fourdays of events Starting withthe lectures on the Thursday,there are also visits to theHamVention during thefollowing days Several Britishspeakers have appeared herewith George G3RJV being one

● Fig 2: It was a letter from G3RJV

published in Short Wave Magazine

which started it all Unfortunately though G3RJV can’t remember which month it appeared in the

magazine and the PW/SWM

Editorial staff got diverted on covering so many old friends and memories! Those were the days eh?

dis-● Fig 3: The G-QRP Club stand at the Dayton HamVention in 1993, with G3RJV, Dick G0BPS and friends The late Don Watson GW3RJY - himself a pioneer in home-brewing and QRP operations is on the right of the photograph.

● Fig 4: George G3RJV awarded the

QRP ARCI ‘Hall of Fame’ by their

President Paula WB9TBU.

of the highlights They just love

our accent! However, they still

don’t attract the same numbers

as Rochdale!

Evening events often go on

until the small hours The

banquet during the weekend is

the time for presentations

and the highlight of the

‘Hall of Fame’ awards This

is the ARCI’s way of

rewarding hard working in

the field of QRP Four

California QRP Club) for

the past few years is a

much smaller event It’s

much like the Rochdale

event except in effect it’s

a QRP gathering attached

to a radio rally much like

Dayton

British speakers have

also been invited and I

found it an excellent

venue However, the poor

ARRL speaker had an

audience of 11 in a room

for 300 whereas our room

for 100 was jam packed

with over 200 listeners

with some standing in the

aisle outside!

Well Known

In any part of society

certain people become well

known for the work they do

or the writing they publish

In this hobby there have

been few amateurs who

have ‘led the field’ without

doubt one is the Rev

George Dobbs G3RJV the

man who almost

single-handedly started it all

again back in 1974 His

work over the past 20 plus

years has been imprinted

on the hobby and will never beforgotten

Another stalwart, perhapsless well known in the UK (but

well known to PW readers

through G3RJV’s writing) is the

late Doug DeMaw W1FB (Fig.

6) A hugely successful writer

and QRPer Known bythousands in the USA he was anidol to many QRPers over there,and to many here in the UK

George and I visited him at hisMichigan home in 1993 and thepicture shows him in hisworkshop

Today, one of the mostsuccessful operators in theworld of QRP is unknown tomost in the UK However, in the

USA Randy Rand AA2U has

truly ‘been there and done it all’

with DXCC with milliwatts tomention just one

One of the first States-side

QRP clubs was the Michigan QRP Club, which was founded

by Lowell Corbin KB8FR and his wife Robin NI9R, Fig 7.

They’re a wonderfulcouple with a greatsense of humour!

In the Czech

Republic there’s Peter Doudera OK1CZ, Fig 8 He has almost

single handedlydragged QRP to theforefront in his country

Pete Halpin PE1MHO in Holland

who recently gainedthe first 50MHz DXCCcertificate and at QRPtoo! Pete regularlyattends the Rochdaleconvention

In Germany, Peter Zenker DL2FI who

along with the

magazine Funk

Amateur has ensured

that the GermanQRPers got their own

club, DL-QRP There

are also many moreindividual members ofclubs throughout theworld, each doing theirbit to promote thehobby

In my book

Introducing QRP

George G3RJV said in his leader

“These days it is hardly possible

to open an Amateur Radiomagazine without seeing atleast one item on QRP” Thisseems doubly so since he wrotethat in 1996

in another 20 years I wonder?Even with all the friendlinessthroughout the QRP world thereare still problems and it tookmany years, right up until thelate 1980s for the power levels

to become truly International.The USA stuck to 5W

output whilst the UK used input power or 3W out!

Negotiations soon broughtforth a compromise and the 5Woutput level stuck There arenow discussions to make the

overall power level 5W for all modes.

There has also been muchdiscussion about the new datamodes and power levels But allthat will have to wait for thenext and future follow-on of thehistory of QRP some years

hence in PW.

Whatever happens andwherever you turn in theAmateur Radio world, mentionthe secret password ‘QRP’ anddoors open, friends aremade often for life The thrill isback and you can really enjoythe hobby again thanks to thechallenge of low poweroperating!

PPW W

● Fig 5: Inductees of the ARCI ‘Hall of Fame’ 1997 Left to right - Doug KI6DS,

Dick G0BPS, Mike WA8MLQ

● Fig 8: In the Czech Republic Peter Doudera OK1CZ, has almost single-handedly dragged QRP to the forefront in his country.

References & Information panel

(1) Taken from the QRP Society membership data form given

Dick Pascoe G0BPS is currently the SSB & Data Manager

of the G-QRP Club (He is also on the Board of Directors of the

QRP-ARCI The only non-American member! Editor)

● Fig 7: The founder of the Michigan QRP Club Lowell KB8FR and his wife Robin NI9R, photographed with the author (see text).

● Fig 6: The late Doug DeMaw W1FB in his workshop, along with some of his world famous home-brewed QRP equipment (see text).

is now quite wellknown The technique, sometimesknown as the Super VXOtechnique, has been described by

George Dobbs G3RJV‡1 in his

column, Carrying On The Practical

Way (COTPW), in PW.

The technique has also beencalled the ‘rock-bending’ principle,

as demonstrated in the ARRL

Handbook‡2 with the description

of the ‘Rock-Bending Receiver’.

Now I’ve applied the technique to

an old favourite transmitterdesign‡3, with the resultantsimple, one transistor c.w

transmitter that has a very usefultuning range Some additionalinformation is also presented toenable interested readers to adapt

it to other bands than 7MHz

Simple Transmitter

My first successful home-brewQRP project was the construction

of the simple transmitter

described by Roger Davies ZS5ZD, in the March 1984 edition

of Radio-ZS our journal here in

South Africa (the circuit is as

shown in Fig 1) This was back in

my early student days long ago inthe 1980s But the project’s successwetted my appetite for more home-brew transmitter and receiverprojects, though operating themalso emphasized the shortcomings

of some of these simple designs

The main shortcoming of theoriginal simple design is that it’s

‘rock bound’, in other words has alimited frequency range,determined by control of one ormore crystals Since then a lot ofserious experimenting was done bydedicated Amateurs, often in thewee hours The breakthroughs ofsome of these people areimplemented in a revisit to this

simple, single transistor, crystalcontrolled transmitter

Principle of Operation

Now let’s look at the priciples ofoperation The transistor is biasedinto conduction by the 22kΩresistor feeding current into thebase Frequency selective feedback

is implemented with an additionalwinding on the low pass filterinductor, feeding a small amount

of the output of the amplifier back

to the input through a crystal,which causes the circuit tooscillate

The transmitting frequency isdetermined by operating thecrystal close to the series (lowimpedance) resonance point Theresultant very elementarytransmitter has though, veryacceptable performance Outputpower can be increased by reducing

the value of the 22kΩ resistor to10kΩ

Although normally a crystalcontrolled transmitter ensures aclean, drift free signal, it alsoseriously limits operation to a verysmall segment of the band Thetransmitter also lackstransmit/receive changeoverfacilities when sharing the sameantenna with a separate receiver

And to complete the groan list: The

ability to ‘spot’ the operatingfrequency on a home-brew receiver(without an accurate frequencyread-out) was also sorely missed

Of course, adding all the required features would add to thecomplexity of the circuit, but the end product would achieve a betterlevel of user friendliness If it could

be achieved with the addition ofonly a few extra passivecomponents, the result would be avery useful and simple littletransmitter that can accompanyyou anywhere

Pulling Frequency

Adding a combination of a seriesinductor and variable capacitorbetween the crystal and the groundconnection increases the ability to

‘pull’ the operating frequency

There’s no need to use an

expensive high Q inductor, a

moulded choke performs just aswell The addition of the 4.7pFcapacitor across the tuned circuit

680p

2m5 RFC

L1 L2

Key

low-pass filter

● Fig 1: This simple QRP transmitter by ZS5ZD was the start-point for Hannes own project in PW.

● The ZS6BZP transmitter ready to go.

enhances the ‘tune-ability’ evenfurther (I’ve found that 4-5pF isclose to the stray capacitance ofthe crystal in its holder.)

To squeeze the final couple ofkilohertz shift out of the circuit,another identical crystal isadded in parallel with theexisting one (aka Super VXO)

This additional crystal enables afrequency pulling capability ofseveral kilohertz to be extended

to a few tens of kilohertz Usingcrystals cut for the QRP

frequency of 7.030MHz, itshould be possible to operatefrom around 7.010 to 7.030MHz

A very worthwhile improvementindeed

Adding a 1.2kΩ resistor in theemitter leg reduces the currentthrough the transistordramatically, and thus theoutput power Now thetransmitter has sufficient level

to allow zero-beating with a

received signal The resistor isswitched out of the circuit

during transmitting, allowingthe transmitter to run at fullpower on transmit

or ‘dead bug’ construction andthe ground plane helps to keep

things calm at r.f

Probably the only potentiallydifficult part is the winding thetoroidal inductor Rememberthat the number of turns isdetermined by the number oftimes the wire passes throughthe ’hole’ on the middle So, halfturns are not possible Wind theprimary first (highest number ofturns) and spread the windingsevenly over nearly the total area

of the toroidal core The feedbackwinding is then added over theprimary winding

Notes and warnings

I feel that there’s a few notes andwarnings that I should make forthose who haven’t worked withthis system before:

● If the transmitter doesn’twant to work at first, thephasing of the feedbackwinding may be wrong

Simply reversing theconnections can often solvethe problem

● The value of the emitterresistor can be reduced if thecircuit fails to produce asignal when it is keyedduring reception (‘netting’)

However, use the biggestvalue resistor (lowest output)that will ensure reliableoperation

● Don’t be tempted to get toomuch of a good thing: I’vemade the mistake of using av.h.f transistor, with somevery unstable results It isbetter to stick to cheapmodern ‘audio’ transistors

There should be no surprisev.h.f oscillations!

● Don’t try to over-extend thetuning range either The c.w

‘note’ and the output powerwill suffer A tuning range of20kHz on 7MHz will cover alot of activity, except maybethe c.w ‘machine guns’ at thelow end of the band

● The purity of the transmittedsignal will also suffer if theoutput power is increased toomuch This is a simple one-transistor circuit, and as such

we must respect its limits

A major benefit of working

on the lower h.f bands is theease of which tests andmeasurements can be made

A cheap and nasty 10MHzoscilloscope connected to theoutput load will tell you a lotabout your transmittedsignal

Other Bands

Operation on other bands ispossible by changing the crystals,the number of turns on theoutput filter inductor, the values

of the output filter capacitors andthe series tuned circuit Forexample, on 3.5MHz, use 17+3turns on the toroid and 1.8nFcapacitors For the determiningcomponents, a 33uH mouldedchoke in series with a 100pFvariable capacitor will do thetrick

So, there you have it, a simple,very useful transmitter can bemade quickly and cheaply Build

it, operate it and enjoy it!

15 µ L3

L1 / L2: 13 / 3 Turns on T50 – 2 TR1: BFY50, 2N3553 etc.

Practical Wireless Jan

1998, by George DobbsG3RJV

‡2 A Rock-BendingReceiver for 7MHz - p17.68

The ARRL Handbook for Radio Amateurs, Seventy- Sixth Edition

● Fig 3: It’s said that “beauty is in the eye

of the beholder”, and in simplistic terms this is a beautiful sight.

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